What It Takes
by mattnme04
Summary: Troy and Gabriella have been friends since their junior year of high school. Throughout the years following high school and college, they experience many ups and downs. Will they ever know what it takes to find true love and make it last?
1. Mr Brown Eyes

Hey guys…this is my first story so I hope you like it. Part of the events in this story came from a dream that I had and I just went with it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 1 - Mr. Brown Eyes**

It was an ordinary day for Gabriella. She was running errands for her boss at her job she had on-campus at NYU. Gabriella was going to college to be a science teacher. She found this job working in an office just so she could have a little extra spending money. It wasn't like she needed the money because her mom gave her everything she could ever want, but working this job allowed her to do something different for once and she enjoyed it very much. Gabriella had just finished the errands for her boss and was walking back to the office. As she was walking through the student union, she was looking at all the faces, seeing if she recognized anyone. As she looked around, her eyes connected with the most gorgeous, brown eyes she had ever seen. She just couldn't look away, and neither could he. He finally got up and came to talk to her. Gabriella was so nervous; she finally looked away and started fidgeting with her hands.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," Gabriella replied.

"My name's David. What's yours?"

"Gabriella, but my friends call me Gabi."

"Well, Gabi, I couldn't help but notice you as you walked through. You have the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes."

"Thanks. So I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new to the campus?"

"No, I'm just visiting a friend from my hometown. I came home for the week and wanted to surprise my friend also. He didn't know I was coming home, so I made the 4 hour trip to come surprise him."

"Oh. Well I hope you enjoy your visit. I would love to stay and talk more but unfortunately I have to get back to work. It was nice talking to you."

Gabriella walked off, but hadn't gotten far when she heard him speak to her again.

"What time do you get off of work? Think we could do lunch?"

"I get off of work in about 15 minutes. Lunch would be great. I'll meet you back here."

"Great! See you then."

Gabriella went back to work, but couldn't help but feel that the last 15 minutes were the longest 15 minutes she had ever lived in her life.

Sorry for the first chap being so short. Also, Troy will appear in the next chapter. Please review.


	2. Lunch and Telling

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 2 - Lunch and Telling**

Lunch was fun for the two. Gabriella and David hit it off very well. They began learning everything about each other. David was a musician trying to get his big break. He lived in L.A. but was from upstate New York. As Gabriella learned more about David, she couldn't help but think that this was the kind of guy that she had always pictured herself with: smart, funny, loves music, and not to mention very handsome. The two had a great time but time got away from them and when Gabriella saw the time, she nearly choked on the water she was drinking.

"I'm so sorry David, but I have a class in 20 minutes. I really need to be going."

"That's alright. I'll drive you back."

They drove back in comfortable silence, but when David pulled up to the building where Gabriella's class was held, he pulled the car over and Gabriella noticed he had a nervous look on his face.

"When can I see you again?" he asked.

Gabriella smiled at this. How could she get so lucky?

He continued, "I mean…that is if you want to get together again…."

"David, I would love to go out with you again. How about tomorrow night?"

"That would be great. Why don't you meet me at that new Italian restaurant?"

"Sounds great. 7:00?"

"Awesome. See you then. Have fun in class!"

"Thanks." Gabriella got out of the car and practically ran to her class. She couldn't wait to tell her best friend her great news.

Troy sat in class 10 minutes early, just like always. _Where is Brie? She always beats me to class._ He sat there watching the clock. When there was only two minutes left before class started, he started to get really worried. _What if she's sick? What if she got hurt trying to get here? Oh, I should have met her and walked her to class today._ He checked his phone, but had no new messages or missed calls. _Where could she be?_

Just then the door flew open and in ran Gabriella with a huge smile on her face. She went and sat by Troy.

"Where have you been Brie?"

"I have the most amazing news to tell you! I met a guy and he is the most amazing guy and had the most gorgeous brown eyes and…."

She continued but all Troy could focus on was the breaking of his heart. You see, Troy had secretly loved Gabriella since he met her during the middle of their junior year in high school at a ski lodge. That was three years ago.

Gabriella was still talking, but Troy wasn't listening anymore. He was heartbroken. _Why didn't I say something to her sooner? Maybe this wouldn't have happened if I had spoken up sooner. No…it wouldn't have happened. She wouldn't be sitting her rambling about some guy she just met and how wonderful he is. She would be telling me how much she loves me and how she doesn't want to live the rest of her life without me…_

"Troy…….Troy……..Troy!!" She kept saying his name, louder each time. He finally heard her.

"Huh? Oh yeah, that's great Brie. I'm happy for you."

"You seem distracted today. Are you alright?"

"Yeah…I'm fine, never been better."

Class started, but Gabriella couldn't help but feel that something was not right with Troy. He didn't even look like he was paying attention to anything she said, let alone to anything the professor was saying. Good thing they were hanging out tonight….she would get it out of him then.

Later that night, Troy and Gabriella were curled up on her bed watching a movie when Gabriella decided to talk to Troy about his behavior in class today.

"Troy…what happened today in class that had you so distracted. You weren't listening to anything I said let alone anything Professor Murphy said. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah Brie, everything is fine. Nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about anything." He hated lying to her, but how was he supposed to tell her that he loved her when she was so excited about going on a date with someone else?

**Please review!!!**


	3. Three Years Later

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 3 - Three Years Later**

Three years passed. Gabriella and Troy both graduated from college and got jobs back at East High, Gabriella as a science teacher and Troy as the music teacher. This made the trip for David much easier when he came to see Gabriella because he didn't have as far to go. They were still dating and their relationship was going strong. Troy had finally gotten used to her dating someone else and had tried dating other girls, but every time one of those girls had tried to get serious with the relationship, he would break up with them. He just couldn't imagine himself getting married to someone if that someone was not his Brie.

David's career had picked up tremendously. He was now a big time rock star with two records already out. He traveled to see Gabriella as much as he could, but when he was on tour, the trips became farther and farther apart. Sometimes it would be months before Gabriella saw him. But she loved him nonetheless.

One day Gabriella got a call from David. She was expecting him to be in town tomorrow.

"Hey babes. I just talked to my manager. I'm not going to be able to make the trip this time. It's going to be a few more weeks before I have another break. I'm so sorry. But I promise I will make it up to you when I see you again."

These times were the most difficult for Gabriella. It wasn't like this was the first time he had done this to her. "It's ok…I understand. We'll see each other soon, though, right?"

"Of course…I'm going to get there as soon as I can. But I have to get off the phone now, I've got a recording session tonight that I need to go prepare for. I'll see you soon, alright? I love you, Gabi."

"Ok, I love you too. Bye."

Gabriella hung up. She really did understand that his job sometimes did this to him. She was so happy that his career had finally come off the ground but she couldn't help but feel that she had become second best in his life since that time. Gabriella started crying. If they were to get married, what would their marriage be like? They would have kids who probably would never see their father because he was always on the road. Could she really see herself in a relationship like that? But she did love David, so much. She also couldn't see herself leaving him. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Just then, her phone rang. She looked down at the picture that popped up and smiled. Her best friend, Troy. He always knew what to say to make her feel better.

She answered the phone. "Hey Troy. What's up?"

"Well I was thinking that since I probably won't see much of you over the next week that we could hang out tonight. What do you say?"

"Well actually, I would feel much better if I did see you quite a bit over the next week. David isn't coming. I just got off the phone with him. His manager told him no again."

Troy began to get mad. "How many times is he going to do this to you? Don't you realize that almost every time you make plans with him he backs out? Do you really want to continue to live your life like that? I know how happy you are with him and I am so glad that you have found that happiness in your life. But are you truly going to be happy if he continues to do this to you, Brie?"

Gabriella couldn't believe what she was hearing from him. She thought he supported every part of this relationship that she is in. "You know what? If you can't support this relationship that I am in, then I don't want to hang out with you. So either deal with it or leave me alone." Gabriella hung up the phone in fury. How could he do that to her? Her best friend.

She decided she needed some air so she went for a walk outside. It was getting dark and she knew she probably shouldn't be walking around outside but she was mad and she needed to cool off. _Why does this always happen to me? I just wanted to spend some time with David. And why must Troy always be so judgmental? Why can't he just be the supportive friend that I need and let me know that everything is going to be ok, even when it feels like…_Just then someone came up behind her and grabbed her, covering her mouth. She tried to scream but couldn't. Then this person slammed her down to the ground. It was dark outside, so she really couldn't see the person's face but saw enough to know she didn't know this person.

"If you keep quiet I won't hurt you any more than I have to."

Gabriella tried to scream again but was still finding it difficult. What did this person want with her? Why her? Just then the man started ripping her pants off and before she knew it, her innocence had been taken from her.

The man ran off and Gabriella just laid there in pain, crying to herself. The last thing Gabriella remembers is someone yelling "Brie? Oh my god! Brie!" Things went black.


	4. Overcoming the Pain

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 4 - Overcoming the Pain**

When Gabriella woke up, she saw white walls all around her and machines beeping. She was in the hospital. She looked around her and tried to scoot up in bed but was too sore to do so. She looked over at the side of the bed and sleeping in a chair was Troy. She tried to sit up more in bed and in the process made enough noise to wake Troy up.

"Oh Brie! You're awake! How are you feeling? Are you ok?" He jumped up and hugged her, trying to be careful not to hurt her.

"I'm really sore. What happened? Why am I in the hospital?"

"You don't remember? The doctors found enough evidence on you to conclude that you were raped, Brie."

Suddenly, it all came back to her and she started to cry. She felt so dirty and all she wanted to do was take a long, hot shower to wash away the feel of that man touching her.

Troy climbed up and sat on the bed next to her and rubbed her back while whispering encouraging words in her ear until the sobs subsided. "They found the man that did it. He's in jail, Brie. They used the evidence on you to track him down. He won't hurt you anymore. I will make sure of it."

"Why are you here? I treated you like crap on the phone last night and this is the treatment I get? I don't deserve for you to be here. You should just go home."

Troy's heart was broken for her. "I don't want to go home. This is where I need to be. My best friend is lying here broken in a hospital bed. Right now, this is home, as long as I'm with you."

Gabriella started to cry again, but happy tears this time. She was so relieved to have a friend like him, even though she didn't deserve his kindness towards her. She curled up next to him with his arm around her and fell asleep until the doctor came in a little while later.

"Gabriella, I'm Doctor Jones. I have looked over your charts and it looks like you are good to go. I'll go get the papers for you to sign and we'll get you out of here so you can go home. Just take it easy for a few days. It won't be good for you to get stressed."

"Ok, thank you Doctor." Doctor Jones walked out.

"Oh Troy, it will be so good to sleep in my own bed. That will make me feel so much better. But are you sure they got the guy? I don't know if I feel safe going back to my apartment with people like that lurking around."

"Brie, they got him for sure. He's going to be locked away for a long time. And if it makes you feel any better, I could stay with you for a few nights to make it feel safer."

"That would be nice, but are you sure you don't mind?"

"Positive. Now let's get you ready to go home."

Troy drove Gabriella home and he stayed there for a few days while Gabriella got better. The more time he spent with her, though, the more his heart broke because he was realizing now more than ever that he could never be with her. David called Gabriella every couple of days and it seemed as if their relationship was stronger than ever, even if they didn't see each other. _How am I ever going to live without you Brie?_


	5. Telling Him

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 5 - Telling Him**

Over the next few weeks, Troy kept close watch over Brie. He had finally went home, but was at her apartment nearly every night until he could get her to sleep, then he would quietly slip out and go home. It killed him seeing her so afraid of people and afraid of telling anyone about what happened. She hadn't even told David.

"Why haven't you told him yet? He deserves to know! I'm sure he would have been on the next flight here if you had."

"That's just it Troy."

"What" Troy looked at Gabriella confused.

"I don't want him here right now. I'm so scared of what he is going to think when I tell him. What if he thinks that I'm a dirty piece of trash now? I mean, that's how I feel so why wouldn't he feel the same? That and I don't want him to leave what he is doing just for me and make his manager mad."

"Brie, you are more important than anything, or at least you should be. You should be at the top of his priority list. He needs to know when something is wrong. If you can't tell him something like this now, how to you expect to be comfortable telling him when something is wrong in the future?"

"You're right. I don't know why I don't feel comfortable talking to him about it. I guess probably because he is another man. He could have easily done the same thing."

"Brie, you know that is not true. David is one of the few decent guys in the world. And besides, if that is how you are going to think, why do you feel comfortable talking to me about it? I'm just another guy too."

Gabriella looked at Troy. Troy wasn't just another guy. He was her best friend, someone she put total trust in and knew she could talk to about anything.

"I guess you're right. I do need to talk to him. I'll call him tonight."

"Good. I have to go now but I'll see you tomorrow at work, right?"

"Yep, wouldn't miss it for the world," she said sarcastically.

Troy left and Gabriella sat thinking about how she was going to tell David. She picked up her phone and dialed the familiar number.

"Hey babes. I miss you."

"I miss you too, David. When are you coming to see me?"

"Miss me bad, huh?" David laughed, making Gabriella smile.

"Yeah I do, but I really need to talk to you about something and I don't want to do it over the phone."

"Oh ok. Is everything alright?"

"I hope it will be after I talk to you."

"Let me talk to my manager and see what we can work out. I'll be there as soon as I can. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Ok. Yeah I'll be fine. I just really need you here." Gabriella started to cry softly.

"Babes, you're scaring me. Listen, I don't care what my manager says. I'll be on the next flight to Albuquerque."

"Ok, thank you. I love you."

"Love you too. See you soon." Gabriella hung up the phone and sat there crying softly, eventually crying herself to sleep.

Gabriella woke up some time later to a knock on the door. She looked at the clock. It read 4:43 A.M. She looked out the peephole in her door to see who it was and smiled brightly. She flung the door open and jumped into his arms.

"I missed you so much!"

"I got here as quickly as I could. My manager wasn't too happy, but anything for you. I love you!"

"I love you too." They walked into her apartment and sat down on the couch in comfortable silence, David rubbing Gabriella's back. Gabriella had her head on his shoulder and eventually fell asleep that way.

When Gabriella awoke again, she realized that she needed to get ready for work. She had just finished getting ready when she heard David wake up from his place on the couch.

"Hey, where are you going? I thought we were going to talk."

"We are, but I can't miss any more work. I promise we will talk when I get home this afternoon."

"Ok, hurry home. I want to spend as much time with you as possible before I have to go back to L.A."

At this, Gabriella saddened. She didn't want to think of him leaving her again. She had just gotten him back after not seeing him for over four months.

"I'll be home around 3:30. See you then. Love you."

Gabriella went through the day, nervous about her conversation that she knew she would have to have with David. She was afraid of what he would think of her now. On Gabriella's way out of the building that afternoon, she was stopped by Troy.

"Hey, you ok? You don't look to good."

"Thanks Troy. Way to boost the self-esteem."

"Sorry, but seriously. You ok?"

"I'm really nervous about talking to David. He flew in last night so we could talk but didn't get here until really early this morning. I told him we would talk after I got home from work. And I'm really nauseas. I woke up that way this morning. It's probably just all my nerves getting the best of me."

"Hey, it will all work out. Everything will be fine. But if you need me, call."

"Ok, thanks. I'll see you tomorrow."

Gabriella went home and found David lying on the couch watching T.V. As soon as he heard her come in, he jumped up and came over giving her a big kiss. Gabriella tensed at this. The last time a guy had kissed her was the night she was raped. David noticed the tension and began to worry. "Babes, what's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

"No, but that's what I need to talk to you about."

They sat down on the couch and Gabriella explained the whole situation to David, from her fight with Troy to her stay in the hospital.

David was shocked. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?" He started to get mad that she had kept something that important from him.

"I was afraid. Do you realize that every time a man even bumps into me I flinch? I can't even stand it when a man even looks in my direction. I freak out, thinking "what if he is the same way as the man who raped me?"

"Do you honestly think that I'm that way though? Is that how you view me: just some man in the mix of others who might be purposely trying to hurt you?"

"No David! That is not how I see you at all. I love you. But you were so far away and I didn't want to tell you over the phone and I didn't know how to tell you. I wanted to, believe me, but I didn't know how. I guess my biggest fear was how you would take it."

David looked at her, still extremely upset. "Well I guess you don't have to fear that anymore. I need some air. I'll be back later." And he left.

Gabriella sat there crying on the couch, hoping that what he said would hold true, that he would be back.


	6. Positive

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 6 - Positive**

The next morning, Gabriella woke up on the couch. There was no other noise in the apartment. David didn't come back. Gabriella tried to sit up but got nauseas suddenly. She ran to the bathroom and puked. She was in there for an hour. But when she got up to go call in sick to work, she began feeling ok again. _Maybe it's just nerves_. But this had been a repetitive thing. Just then she remembered that she had missed her period last week.

"No, it couldn't be," she said, suddenly getting scared of the possible cause of her sickness. Gabriella called into work and drove down to the pharmacy. She picked up three different pregnancy tests just so she could be sure.

After testing with each one, she saw the same result: Positive. She was pregnant and it wasn't with the love of her life's baby.

Gabriella was sitting on the couch in deep thought when David finally came back. She didn't even here him come in until he began to speak to her.

"I thought you would be at work."

"I called in sick; I wasn't feeling well this morning. Where were you last night? I was so worried."

"I took a drive around then got a hotel room for the night. I needed to think about some things."

Gabriella nodded. "We really need to talk."

"Gabi, I think we have done enough talking for one visit. Why don't we just put this in the past and not worry about it."

"David, I'm pregnant."

David was speechless. He could not believe that had just come out of her mouth. He had always dreamed that when she said those three words, it would be a time of joy because she would be telling him that she was having his child. Now he looked at her with disgust. When he finally was able to speak again, he was outraged.

"WHAT?!! I can't believe this! Are you sure?"

"I took three different tests with the same result. I called the doctor and I have an appointment just to make sure but I'm pretty sure."

David was silent for several minutes.

"David, please say something….anything."

"I need to go. I have a flight to catch." He began gathering his things and was about to walk out the door.

"So this is how it's going to be? You're just going to get up and leave during the middle of a conversation? I can't believe you. You know, I thought you would take it better than this. I thought that you would be man enough to stand by me during this situation. You know, this is hard on me too. I didn't ask to be put in this difficult situation. It just happened."

"I can't even look at you right now. You are having another man's child. I always thought that when I heard you say those words it would be my child you were talking about. I'm sorry. I can't deal with this right now." And with that David walked out the door, leaving a crying Gabriella crumpled on the floor.

Gabriella crawled over to her phone and dialed Troy's number. "Please pick up, please pick up."

"Brie, where were you today? Is everything ok?"

"Troy, I need you!" Gabriella said crying.

"I'll be there in five minutes."

A few minutes later Troy walked in to Gabriella's apartment and found her curled up on the couch still crying.

"Hey, what happened?" he said softly while rubbing her back.

Gabriella explained what had happened the night before when she told David about the rape.

"So he's still upset about that?"

"No."

"Then what happened to make him so upset?"

"Troy, I'm pregnant. That's why I've been so sick these past few days."

Troy was speechless. When he finally found his words again, he hugged her and said, "It's going to be ok. We'll get through this; I'll be here for you every step of the way."

Gabriella was so relieved to know that she had someone to help her through it all, someone who, she was realizing, she was falling in love with.


	7. Tragedy Strikes

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 7 - Tragedy Strikes**

Gabriella didn't talk to David for the next two weeks…not that she didn't try. She had called him several times, but each time she got his voicemail. She was about ready to give up on him altogether. She finally decided one day, going into the third week since he had left, that she was going to call one last time. Again, she got his voicemail. She left him a message this time.

"Hey, David. It's Gabi. I know you don't want to talk to me and that's fine because I've made up my mind. It's over, David. I can't live like this, wondering if you are ever going to talk to me again or not. I know you don't support me in this and that's fine. I have support here at home. I have family and friends who care." Gabriella paused, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. "I loved you, David. But I can't love you anymore." Gabriella hung up and broke down in sobs.

Gabriella lived her next few days doing as little as possible to get by. As soon as she got home from work each evening she would curl up in bed and cry. She missed David, but she didn't deserve to be treated like he was treating her.

On the fourth day, Troy came over to her apartment, knocking, but when he didn't get an answer he went on in. He found her in her room crying. But what he saw when he looked at where she had been laying, he hadn't been prepared for.

"Oh my gosh, Brie!"

"I need to go to the hospital, Troy."

There was blood all over the bed where she had been laying. Troy picked her up bridal style and rushed her to the hospital. When he got there, the doctors had him wait in the waiting room. While he was in there, he used her phone to call David. He got David's voicemail.

"David, this is Troy. I don't know why you haven't been answering any calls over the past few weeks but you need to begin thinking of someone besides yourself. Listen, Brie is in the hospital. I don't know any details right now but if you get this message, please call me back."

Just then, the doctor walked in and began talking to Troy.

"She's had a miscarriage. But we also found out that she was carrying twins. One survived, the other didn't."

"Oh my gosh. Brie has to be devastated."

"She is stable and the baby is doing well. We are going to run a couple more tests just to be sure everything is fine. If everything goes well she will be able to go home tomorrow. She just needs to stay away from any type of stress that may be caused. Please keep her as relaxed as possible. She isn't out of the woods yet."

"Thank you, Doctor. Can I go see her now?"

"Yes. Follow me. I'll take you to her room."

Troy followed the doctor and as soon as they arrived at her room the doctor left them alone.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

"Could be better, could be worse. What did the doctor say?"

"Brie, you had a miscarriage."

Her eyes started to tear up. "I was afraid of that. You know, this baby wouldn't have exactly come into the world in a way that I would wish on any child, but I had come to love it, no matter who its father was."

"There's more you need to know." Gabriella nodded, showing him to go on. "You were carrying twins and you are still carrying one of them. You only miscarried one of them."

"What? How is that possible? You mean, I'm still pregnant?"

"Yes Brie, you're still pregnant."

Gabriella didn't know what to say. She just laid there and cried, some tears of joy, others of pain. She still had one child that she could love, but she had lost another. How could two such different emotions come out of the same situation?

"Brie, you know I will always be here for you right?"

"Yes, thank you." Gabriella looked up into Troy's bright blue eyes, as if seeing him for the first time. "I love you Troy."

Troy was shocked by her words but figured that she only meant them in a friendly way. "I love you too Brie."

Gabriella smiled and reached out to hold Troy's hand. Troy sat there and rubbed her hand until she fell asleep. About 20 minutes after she fell asleep, her phone rang. Troy quickly silenced it so it wouldn't waken her, but looked to see who was calling. It was David.


	8. The Phone Call

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 8 - The Phone Call**

Troy stepped out of the room to answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Troy, its David. How is Gabi?"

"You know its funny you should ask. Right now, she is lying in a hospital bed mourning the loss of a baby. Maybe if she hadn't been so stressed, she would have been able to have a normal pregnancy with no problems."

"Man, I am so sorry. I've been such an ass to her."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. Do you know she has sat in her apartment every night for the last 3 weeks and cried herself to sleep? Ever since that day you walked out on her. I think her body finally had all it could take though. But we also found out today that she was going to have twins."

"So she lost two babies, not just one?"

"No, she only lost one. But she is still grieving the loss of that child that she was carrying within her. To you, those babies may have been conceived out of hatred and anger at the world by someone who I personally am going to hate for the rest of my life. But those were your girlfriend's babies. Ones that she had come to love and feel a need to protect."

"Well she was my girlfriend."

"What do you mean _was_?"

"Didn't she tell you? She called about four days ago and left a message on my phone saying that we were over. I was so heartbroken when I got that message."

"Yeah, well if you were so heartbroken over losing her, why haven't you been preventing it by answering her phone calls?"

"I was too scared to. That day when she told me that she was pregnant was one of the scariest times in my life. I had actually planned on proposing to her sometime soon. But then she told me she was pregnant with some other man's baby and it scared the shit out of me. I could just see it now. Assuming she did accept my proposal I would become a father immediately, and not to my own child. I'm not ready to be a father."

"Do you think she's ready to be a mother? She didn't ask for any of this. She didn't ask to become a mother yet. But here she is, finding out that in about 6 months she will be a mother to a beautiful baby that you and I both know she will love with her whole heart."

"Dude, I'm sorry I hurt her. Please tell her that for me. I still love her, but I don't deserve her. I've treated her like shit and I don't deserve to even be given the chance to ask for forgiveness. It would probably be best if we went our separate ways."

"Yeah, I think that would probably be wise. Have a nice life." And with that, Troy hung up, hoping to never deal with the bastard again.


	9. It's Not April Fools

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 9 - Its Not April Fools**

As the months went on, Gabriella slowly let go of what might have been with David. She still thought about him but finally came to the conclusion that she didn't love him. She did, however, find herself falling more and more in love with Troy every day. He was with her constantly, always there when she needed a helping hand, shoulder to cry on, or a friend to talk to. Only that was the problem. She was finding that she no longer wanted to be just his friend, she wanted more. But she was afraid that if she told him, he would reject her and their friendship would be ruined. She couldn't risk that.

Meanwhile, Troy was experiencing the same feelings. He loved spending all his time with Brie. He couldn't imagine life without her. And every time a guy even talked to her, he found a way to get her out of it. She gave him suspicious looks sometimes, but he couldn't risk her getting into another relationship, unless that relationship was with him.

When Gabriella was about eight and a half months pregnant, Troy was sent to a conference for music teachers. He was only going to be gone for about five days, but Gabriella knew that she would miss him terribly. She had gotten used to him always being around, almost as if they were a couple.

On the first day of April, Troy's third day of being gone, Gabriella was sitting at home reading when all of a sudden she felt something very wet….her water had broken! She began to get very worried. Troy wasn't here to help her. What was she supposed to do? Troy was four hours away. She couldn't wait that long!

She called Troy.

"_Hey, you've reached Troy. Leave me a message_." (_beep) _"Hey Troy, I know you are in that conference but I really need to you to call me NOW!"

She waited a few minutes and finally got a call back from Troy.

"Hey Brie. You missing me bad?" he started laughing

"Troy I really need you to get back here now! My water just broke!"

"Yeah, yeah. Nice April Fool's joke, Brie. Listen, I know you miss me and all. I miss you too. But I will be back in two days. I'll see you then. I really have to go though. The conference is about to start up again. We just had a break. I'll talk to you tonight."

He hung up. Gabriella groaned. Of all days to go into labor! _Well I guess I will just drive myself._ But as soon as she stood up, a contraction had her doubled over in pain. _Now what am I going to do_?

Gabriella finally stood up and grabbed her keys. She knew the hospital wasn't far so she drove herself. When she got to the hospital, the nurse asked her if she had anyone with her. She said no and the nurse looked sad for her.

They got her into a room. As soon as she was set up in her room, she grabbed the phone and called her mom. She told her mom that she was in labor and what had gone on with Troy. Her mom called Troy and left him a message to get home now. But like before, when Troy checked his messages after the conference, he laughed at the "joke" Brie and her family were trying to pull on him.

By 3:30 that afternoon, Gabriella was in the delivery room, ready to deliver the baby. After 30 minutes of pushing, she finally gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.

That evening when the conference ended for the day, Troy went back to his hotel room and tried calling Gabriella, but she wasn't answering. _Hmmm…that's weird._ He left her a voicemail to call him back when she got the chance, but by the time he went to bed that night, she still hadn't called him back.

As Gabriella laid in bed that night, she couldn't help but think that Troy was turning out to be like any other guy she had ever had in her life – seemed dependable until she really needed him. She laid there staring at her daughter, happy that she had at least one person in her life who would love her for who she was. After the nurse came to get the baby to take her to the nursery, Gabriella laid in her bed and cried herself to sleep, feeling more alone that she ever had before.

Over the next couple of days, Troy kept trying to call Gabriella, but she never did answer. He started getting worried that she was mad at him. Sometimes when she was upset with him she wouldn't answer his phone calls. _What did I do this time?_

When the conference was over, Troy drove straight to Gabriella's apartment. When he knocked on her door, Ms. Montez answered.

Troy smiled at her. "Hey, Ms. Montez. Is Brie home?"

"Yes, she is. But she is asleep right now."

"Oh ok. Well, can I come in and wait until she wakes up?"

"Troy, I don't think that would be a good idea. Gabriella isn't too happy with you right now."

"Why? What did I do? She hasn't been answering any of my phone calls for the past couple of days."

"I don't think it is my place to tell you that. If Gabriella decides to talk to you, I will let her tell you."

"Hey mom, who's at the door?" Gabriella said, coming out of her room.

"Brie! Tell your mom to let me in, please. I really want to talk to you."

Gabriella came to the door and Ms. Montez went back into the apartment. "I don't think that is a good idea. Troy, just go home."

"Brie, please talk to me. It's killing me trying to figure out what I did wrong." Just then he noticed what she looked like for the first time. "You're not pregnant anymore…YOU HAD THE BABY?!"

"Troy, please be quieter. And yes, I did have the baby. I tried to tell you that but you wouldn't listen. I really needed you there, Troy. I should have known that you would leave me by myself, just like everyone else ever has! Why is it that everyone that I have ever let into my heart leads me on until I need them the most, then leave me to deal with the scariest, hardest things in my life?" Gabriella started to cry.

Troy stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her as she cried. "Brie, I'm so sorry. I really didn't know. I thought that it was all a joke. It was April Fool's Day and I know you have a sense of humor so I just thought that you were wanting to pull a joke on me. If I had known it was true, I would have been here as soon as I could have gotten here."

"I just feel so alone, Troy. Why do guys always leave me when I need them most? I finally feel like I can trust a guy, then he decides he can't handle it anymore and he leaves me!"

"You can trust me, Brie. I'm sorry I doubted what you said. It won't happen again, that I can promise you." Gabriella looked up at Troy and could tell he was telling her the truth by the sincerity she saw in his eyes.

"Thank you, Troy. That means a lot to me. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Can I come in so we can talk?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded as she moved out of the door to let Troy in. They went and sat on the couch.

Troy looked into Gabriella's eyes and began voicing the thoughts he had been having for the past couple of days. "Brie, I have had a lot of thinking time these past couple of days. I don't want you to feel like you are alone anymore. I want you to know that I am always here for you."

"I know that, Troy, and I am sorry I ever doubted that."

"No, please don't interrupt…I really need to tell you this." Gabriella just nodded to let him know to go on.

"Brie, over these past couple of days, I have realized just how much I miss you when I'm not around you. I miss everything about you. The whole time I was at that conference, all I could think about was getting home so I could see you again. But it hurt when you didn't answer any of my phone calls and I couldn't imagine what I had done to make you not answer or return my calls. Brie, as I have thought about the relationship that you and I have, I have realized that I can't be friends with you anymore. I want more. What I'm trying to say is Brie, I love you. I love you more than anything in this world and I can't be without you anymore. I want to be here for you and your baby. I want to one day be able to come home to you and our own kids. I want…."

Gabriella interrupted Troy by leaning over and kissing him. Troy smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her. Troy deepened the kiss and when the need for air came, they both sat back and looked into each other's eyes.

"I love you, too, Troy. I have for a long time; it just took me a while to figure it out."

Troy was so happy to hear this. He picked Gabriella up from where she was sitting and spun her around, putting her gently back on the ground before kissing her again.

"Can I meet your baby?"

Gabriella nodded and led Troy by the hand back to the nursery. She put her finger over to lips to show Troy to be quiet. She whispered to him. "Troy, this is my daughter, Annabelle Grace."

"She's beautiful…just like her mother." Gabriella smiled, slightly blushing.

"Would you like to hold her?" Troy nodded. Gabriella picked Annabelle up out of her crib and handed her to Troy. Troy sat down in the rocking chair and cuddled her. He sat there just staring at her. How could he love someone so much that he just met? He felt a love for her as if she were his own daughter. He'd never felt anything like that before and it was the best feeling in the world. He looked up at Gabriella who was smiling down at him. These were his girls, and he never wanted it any other way.


	10. Scared

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 10 - Scared**

Troy had left not long after that to go home so Gabriella could rest, but promised he would be back the next day as soon as he got done at work. Around 4:30 he showed up at her door looking nervous about being there.

"Troy, are you ok?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." He gave her a kiss on the cheek as he came in the door.

"Are you sure?" Gabriella looked at him and was worried about the way he was acting. _He isn't having second thoughts about this is he?_ She didn't think she could handle that. Not after she told him how she really felt about him.

Troy looked at her and gave her a true smile. "Yeah, I'm a lot better now that I'm here with you."

Gabriella smiled at this and felt much better about the situation.

"How was Annabelle today? Did you get any rest?"

"Annabelle was fine today. All she does is sleep. I actually did get caught up on some sleep today so I'm feeling much better tonight."

"Good. I thought about you all day. I wanted to be here to help you with her so you could get better quicker. But it's the weekend now so I will be here to help until you kick me out."

"I would never kick you out. And thank you for caring about not only me but Annabelle as well. That means a lot to me. A lot of guys would just see her as a child who came into the world in a disgusting way."

"Hey, I'm not most guys. I don't care how she came to be in this world. She is your child and that is all that matters. I love you and I'm sure the more time I spend with Annabelle the more I will come to love her like my own."

At this, Gabriella smiled wide. She couldn't be happier right now.

Troy and Gabriella just sat on the couch and cuddled until Annabelle began crying a little while later. Gabriella got up to go check on her. When she didn't come back after a few minutes, Troy went to check on them. He walked into the nursery but got embarrassed at seeing Gabriella breast feeding Annabelle and turned to walk out.

A few minutes later, Gabriella came back out to the living room and looked at Troy who seemed to be in deep thought; he hadn't even heard her walk in. Gabriella cleared her throat to get his attention.

He looked up at her and blushed. "What are you thinking about?" Gabriella asked him.

"Hey, sorry for walking in on you. I didn't realize…"

"It's ok. Is that what you were thinking about when I walked in just now?"

"No, I was just thinking about a couple of things that have been on my mind for a few days."

"Want to talk about them?"

"I don't know yet."

"Oh…ok." Troy suddenly looked distant, like he was in deep thought again. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"Brie, will you marry me?"

Gabriella was shocked by this. They had just gotten together. Yeah, they had known each other for forever, but was she ready to marry him? "I can't, Troy. I'm sorry. I have Annabelle to think about now too. Plus I'm not even comfortable as a mother yet. I need to get used to being a mother before I make any major decisions like that."

Troy nodded at her and got up to leave. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going home. I'll see you later." Troy left, leaving Gabriella dumbfounded as to what exactly just happened. She loved Troy so much, but she had to think of Annabelle now too. She needed to focus on just her and get used to having a baby around before she could think about allowing another person into her life permanently.

Troy drove home, tears in his eyes. He just wanted to marry her. He wanted to make her his. He wanted her to know that she wasn't alone in this...that he would be there to help her raise Annabelle as if she was his own. Didn't she get that? As soon as he got home he laid down, thinking of how stupid he was to think she would ever want to marry him. _I probably just ruined the friendship we had_.

The next morning when Troy awoke, everything that had happened last night came rushing back to him. He groaned and rolled back over, looking at the time. 8:43. What was he going to do with a whole day? He couldn't go over to Gabriella's. He couldn't face her. Not yet. Just then his phone rang. He picked it up and looked at the screen. _Brie._ He hit the ignore button and put his phone back down. He couldn't even talk to her. He was so humiliated for popping the question out of thin air.

Throughout the day, Gabriella called 7 more times. Each time, Troy hit the ignore button, and each time Gabriella left a voice mail, begging Troy to call her or come see her. He couldn't do it, though. He needed time away from her so he could get over her and go back to seeing her just as a friend.


	11. Questions Answered

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 11 – Questions Answered**

Over the next few weeks, Troy and Gabriella never saw or talked to each other. After a week she finally stopped calling him, concluding that she was never going to talk to him because he wasn't going to answer her calls. Troy was trying to get over the feelings he had for Gabriella but was finding it much harder than he thought. _Maybe it would be best for both of us if I just left. I wouldn't have to worry about getting over my feelings so quickly because I wouldn't have to see her._ With these thoughts in mind, Troy began packing his things.

Troy had just zipped up his suitcase when he heard a knock on the door. He looked out the spy hole and saw that it was Gabriella. He panicked. He couldn't see or talk to her right now. His feelings were too strong. And if she saw his suitcases she would ask what was going on. He couldn't lie to her. Her knocking didn't stop though. "I know you're in there Troy Bolton! Please….just let me in. I need to talk to you."

Troy debated on what to do. His heart was telling him to let her in, but his head was telling him to ignore her incessant beatings on the door. When her knocking ceased, he thought she had left, but then he heard her talking very quietly. She sounded like she was crying.

"Troy please let me in. I know the answer I gave you to your question the last time we talked was not what you wanted to hear. But you have to understand where I was coming from. I wasn't ready to get married yet. I didn't even know how to be a good mother yet. I was still learning. I was so scared because this was a huge thing in my life that I had to conquer by myself. That's how it has always been. And I didn't think I could handle another big thing in my life to get used to."

"But if you had let me into your life, you wouldn't have been doing all this alone." Gabriella looked up from her spot by the door with tears streaming down her face. She hadn't heard the door open. "I would have been there for you to help you raise Annabelle. I wanted to be there for you but it seemed like you just wanted to push me away."

"I wasn't trying to push you away, Troy. I loved you so much. But I didn't think I could handle it at that time." Troy looked down and saw that Annabelle was fast asleep in Gabriella's arms. He reached out and touched her cheek. The love he felt for her a few weeks ago was just as strong now as it was then and he knew it would never go away, just like his love for Gabriella.

"Do you want to come in?" Gabriella nodded. She walked in and saw Troy's suitcases.

"What are the suitcases for? Are you going somewhere?"

Troy looked at the suitcases then back at Gabriella. "Yeah." Troy led Gabriella over to the couch to sit down.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know really. Anywhere but here. Brie, over the past few weeks I have been miserable. I can't live without you in my life and I came to the conclusion that if I couldn't have you then I couldn't live here. I don't think I can stand to see you when I have these feelings. I have tried to get over you but it's impossible. I think it would just be easier on both of us if I went my own way and left you to find someone who you will love just as much as he loves you and Annabelle. So I guess what I'm trying to say is goodbye." Gabriella started to cry. "Brie, please don't cry. You know I hate it when you cry."

"Then don't leave!"

"Brie, you know I have to. I think it would be so hard to just be your friend with all these feelings that I have for you. I don't think I could handle it."

"Then don't just be my friend. If that offer still stands from a few weeks ago then my answer is yes. I can't live without you. These past three weeks have been absolute torture not being able to talk to you. I love you so much, Troy, and I don't want to live my life without you."

"You'll marry me?" Troy and Gabriella both had tears running down their faces.

"Only if you do one thing for me."

"What's that?"

"Propose in a more romantic way."

Troy laughed. "Now that I think I can do." He leaned over and kissed Gabriella.


	12. His Forever

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 12 – His Forever**

Two weeks had passed since Gabriella had agreed to Troy's unofficial proposal. He still hadn't proposed yet but was trying to plan an unforgettable proposal for her, and it was all a surprise. He had told her that if she wanted it to be romantic then she had to let him do it on his time so it would happen when she least expected it. His plan was for tonight to be the night.

Gabriella's mom was coming over tonight to babysit Annabelle. Gabriella had a feeling that Troy would do it tonight with all the effort he had put into making sure they got a night alone.

They went to eat at a quiet Italian restaurant. Gabriella hadn't gotten to go out to eat since before Annabelle was born so this was a nice break for her. She and Troy sat and talked while they ate. When they were finished Troy paid the bill and grabbed her hand, leading her out of the restaurant. Next, they went to the park they always went to in high school together. Troy pulled a blanket out of his car and they put it on the ground to sit on. Gabriella sat between Troy's legs and leaned back against him. They sat there and looked up at the stars for a while before either of them said anything.

"They're beautiful," Gabriella said in reference to the stars.

"Not as beautiful as the girl I'm looking at."

Gabriella blushed but said "Troy, you're so cheesy."

"What? It's true. You're gorgeous."

"Thank you. You know, this night has been amazing. Thank you for taking me out. I needed this. It's nice to just get away. I didn't realize how much time I spent trying to take care of Annabelle until tonight. Don't get me wrong…I love her so much but I haven't really had the chance to get out much since she was born."

"Well your mom said that she would be glad to babysit anytime, so we will have to do this more often so neither of us gets tired of being parents."

Gabriella looked around at Troy. "You called yourself a parent." She smiled at this. "I'm glad."

"That's how I feel. And that's how I want you to feel. I don't want you to feel like you are doing this alone. I'm going to start taking some of the responsibility too. I love Annabelle like she is my own. I have from the first time I held her."

"I love you, Troy."

"I love you, too. I had probably better get you home so your mom can get home too."

They got up to leave, but Gabriella couldn't help but be disappointed that Troy hadn't proposed yet. He had lots of opportunities to do it tonight but he hadn't.

They drove back to Gabriella's apartment in silence, Troy wondering if something was wrong. He hadn't seen Gabriella this quiet in a long time.

"Hey sweetheart, what's wrong. You're being really quiet."

"Nothing, I think I'm just tired."

"Oh…ok. Are you sure?"

"Yeah, nothing to worry about." Gabriella continued to just stare out the window. She didn't want to push Troy, but she really thought he would have proposed by now.

When they got back to Gabriella's apartment, she quickly said goodnight then unlocked her door. As she was stepping inside, Troy grabbed her hand and turned her around. "You know I love you, right?"

"I love you too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." As Gabriella closed the door, Troy fingered the little black box in his pocket and smiled. He was sure Gabriella had probably been quiet because she was disappointed he hadn't proposed yet. But he knew she probably expected it tonight at dinner or at the park and he wanted to wait until it was a surprise.

Gabriella went to check on Annabelle and saw her mom rocking her to sleep. Ms. Montez looked up and saw Gabriella. "Did he propose?" Gabriella shook her head no. "Give him time. He has to do it on his own time when he's completely ready. Just don't be expecting it to happen. I don't want to see you disappointed all the time. You know he loves you and you will get married. He's already told you he will propose…just give him time."

Gabriella nodded as tears came to her eyes. This was so hard. She just wanted him to propose. Why was she taking this so hard? This wasn't his fault, it was hers. First she pushed him away by telling him she didn't want to marry him. Then when she realized she was ready she forced him to take it back and wait until he could make it more romantic. Who cares if it was romantic?! She just wanted the reassurance that she would become the future Mrs. Bolton.

Ms. Montez put Annabelle back in her crib and walked over to hug Gabriella. "Mom, why does this have to be so hard? Why do I keep pushing him away? This is all my fault that I am struggling here. This isn't his fault, yet I'm treating him like it is."

"At least you are realizing that now before it's too late. Just let him have time and enjoy what time you do spend together, but don't expect anything out of it except quality time. You gave him a challenge, Gabriella, and I think he is up for it. But you can't give him a time limit."

"You're right. I think I'm going to go to bed for tonight. I'm exhausted and Annabelle should be down and out for at least a few hours. I'll let you out."

"No, that's alright. You go ahead and get some rest. I'll let myself out. Goodnight, honey."

"Goodnight, mom." Gabriella went to get ready for bed and heard her mom go out the door. She turned off the lights and crawled in bed, crying herself to sleep, hoping she wasn't pushing Troy too far away.

Troy stood outside the door until Ms. Montez came out. She looked at him and smiled. "She's all yours. She's already in bed too so you might have a little difficulty but she's going to love it all the same. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Ms. Montez."

Troy slipped quietly into the apartment, being sure not to make any noise. As he tiptoed into Gabriella's bedroom, moonlight from the window shown on her enough to let him know she was already asleep. _Perfect…this is even better._ Troy walked over to Gabriella's bed and knelt down next to it. He brought the ring out of his pocket and slipped it on her left ring finger. Then he leaned up and planted soft butterfly kisses all along her jaw line and neck. Gabriella started moaning and grabbed the back of Troy's head, pulling him closer. Troy smiled at her reaction, glad that it was a positive one.

Gabriella suddenly realized what was going on and her eyes shot open. She saw Troy kneeling down next to her and frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Troy smiled at her. "Brie, I love you more than anything in this world. I would do anything for you. And I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you, proving how much I love you and Annabelle. I not only want to be your husband, but I also want to be the father of Annabelle and the father to many more kids with you. Nothing would make me happier than for you to be my wife. Will you marry me?"

Gabriella began crying and put her left hand on Troy's cheek. That is when she saw the ring. She gasped at how beautiful it was. She looked teasingly at Troy. "So I guess you assumed I would say yes."

Troy was dumbfounded. "Well…I…I mean…I just thought…yeah."

Gabriella laughed at him. "You're right. I would love to marry you!" She leaned in and kissed Troy.

"You thought I wasn't going to do it, didn't you. That's why you were so quiet in the car."

"Yeah, but I didn't want to sound like I was complaining. I just thought you would do it tonight and there had been so many perfect opportunities."

"Yeah…but you were expecting it. I told you it would happen when you least expected it."

"Well I definitely was not expecting to be woken up and proposed to. But thank you. I love you so much. And I'm sorry for being so pushy these past couple of weeks. I just thought you would have proposed sooner. But then I realized that both times we talked about it I pushed you away in one way or another. I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I understand where you were coming from both times. And I love you too." Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella again. "Now, get some sleep. We have some planning to do and you're going to need your rest. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, my future Mrs. Bolton." Troy got up to leave. "I'll lock the door on the way out."

"Wait." Gabriella grabbed Troy's hand and looked up at him. He looked at her, confused. "Will you stay with me?"

"Gonna miss me that bad? I'll see you in the morning, first thing."

"No…I mean…yes I would miss you. I just want you here with me. I feel safer when you're here."

"Uh…yeah, I can stay. I'll just grab a blanket out of your closet and sleep on the couch." Troy turned to go again, but Gabriella just jerked him back towards her again.

"No, stay in here with me…please."

"Are you sure?" Troy was a little unsure about this. Gabriella usually still seemed a little uneasy about being physically close to anyone and had been that way since the rape.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Ok, but if you start to feel uncomfortable about me being here just kick me out, ok?"

"Ok, but I'm sure I won't." Troy took his shoes and jeans off and climbed in beside Gabriella. She immediately snuggled up next to him. "Thank you, Troy. This means a lot to me. I love you."

"Anything for you. I love you too."

Gabriella closed her eyes and Troy soon heard even breaths, signaling that she was already asleep. He closed his eyes and snuggled closer to his future wife, happy that he could officially claim her as his forever.


	13. Nerves and Happiness

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 13 – Nerves and Happiness**

_Four months later_

Today was Troy and Gabriella's wedding day and they were both extremely nervous. Gabriella was pacing back and forth in her bridal room. Her two best friends, Taylor and Sharpay, where there trying to comfort her but it didn't seem to be working. "Are you sure he's here? I mean…what if he decides this isn't what he wants after all? Why would he want me anyway? I'm pushy, moody, I have a daughter that isn't his…."

Taylor cut Gabriella off but grabbing her shoulders and making her stop pacing. "Sweetie, you know for a fact that Troy loves you AND Annabelle more than anything in this world. Sometimes I have to remind myself that Annabelle isn't really even Troy's. He loves her as if she was his own and that is the way it will always be. I can guarantee that. And who cares if you are pushy or moody? What woman isn't? But that is what Troy loves about you. You are willing to go as far as you can to get what you want, and he adores that about you."

"Are you sure Taylor? Can you at least go check his room one more time to make sure he is here and isn't backing out?"

"I'm one step ahead of you," said Sharpay, who was walking in the door. She had stepped out to go check on Troy while Taylor was calming Gabriella down. "He said that he loves you and can't wait to meet you at the altar. He's nervous _you_ are going to back out."

"What? I am not going to back out. Annabelle needs a father. And I need him. He's the only male I have been able to trust since the rape."

Taylor and Sharpay both smiled sadly at this. "You've picked a keeper, Gabi. He loves you so much and I don't think he would ever do anything to intentionally hurt you." Taylor said.

"I know. I think I'm most nervous about tonight, though."

Sharpay frowned. "What about tonight? It's your wedding night. Its supposed to be fun and exciting."

Gabriella sighed. "I know. But I haven't even tried to…you know…since the rape and I'm afraid that it won't be a very enjoyable experience. I'm so afraid that I'm going to ruin Troy's night. Plus, if it hadn't been for that jerk, I would still be a virgin. I don't even know what to do in a situation like that."

"Gabi, as long as Troy is with you, I don't think he is going to mind if you feel uncomfortable getting physical with him. He understands." Taylor got up to hug Gabriella. "Listen, just try to have fun and don't think about all the scary things. Just think about how much Troy loves you and go with the flow."

"You're right. Thanks girls." Gabriella hugged Taylor and Sharpay. "Now, I do believe I have a wedding to finish getting ready for." Taylor and Sharpay laughed and helped Gabriella finish getting ready.

Fifteen minutes later, Troy was waiting at the altar for the double doors to open to reveal his beautiful bride. Sharpay was already standing up there and Taylor was making her way down the aisle. Then he heard the music that signaled she was getting ready to come down the aisle. The double doors opened, but Gabriella wasn't seen. Troy started to panic, thinking she had second thoughts and fled the church. After a few seconds, though, she appeared from around the corner and gave him a brilliant smile. He returned the smile and let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. She was breathtaking. When she reached the front of the church and took her place next to him he looked at her and mouthed "I love you." She mouthed it right back and smiled at him.

After the reciting of the vows and exchanging of the rings, the pastor looked towards their family and friends. "It is my privilege to present for the first time as husband and wife Mr. and Mrs. Troy Bolton. Troy, you may kiss your bride."

Troy looked over at Gabriella. His Brie. He grabbed her and dipped her back, giving her the most passionate kiss she had ever received from him. When he brought her back up to stand, they just stared at each other and smiled the biggest smiles. They were finally together…forever…and were completely happy for the first time in a long time.


	14. A Pro and Didn't Know

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Warning: Mature content ahead.

**Chapter 14 – A Pro and Didn't Know**

After a long day of celebrating, Troy and Gabriella were exhausted, but happy. Ms. Montez had agreed to take Annabelle for them so they could have a honeymoon. They had wanted to travel to different locations in Europe for about a week, but Gabriella decided she didn't want to leave Annabelle that long. So Troy decided they would wait and take that trip when Annabelle was older and could go along. Instead, Troy planned to take Gabriella back to the ski resort where they first met seven years ago for a couple of days. He planned it as a surprise and she still didn't know where they were going.

They had arrived at the airport and were waiting to board when their flight was announced. "That's us, sweetheart." He picked up their carry-on bags and grabbed her hand pulling her up with him.

"Are we going to…"

"Yes," he interrupted her. "Is that alright?"

"Of course." Gabriella couldn't believe Troy had remembered from all those years ago when they first met. They boarded the plane.

Later that night, they arrived at the resort. They were now snuggled up in bed thinking about everything that has happened since that fateful night they met.

"I can't imagine how different my life would be right now if I had never met you that night," Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. "I know, I have thought about that too. We wouldn't be here right now." Troy nodded and leaned in to kiss her. Troy deepened the kiss and leaned Gabriella back on the bed. He began pushing her shirt up and rubbing her stomach in small circles, making her moan. He moved his lips to her neck and began leaving wet kisses from her ear to her collarbone. Troy leaned back, keeping eye contact with Gabriella and lifted her shirt off, tossing it to the side. _God she's beautiful_. He leaned back and continued kissing her all the way down her chest and stomach until he reached her pajama shorts that she had on. He slid one finger in the waistband and began tugging them downwards.

Gabriella was really nervous, but she didn't want Troy to see that. He was enjoying himself and she didn't want to ruin his evening. So she just let him do what he wanted, all the while just laying there trying to enjoy what he was doing to her. She lifted up her hips as Troy pulled her shorts down and off, leaving her in just a matching red bra and panty set.

Troy looked at Gabriella and couldn't help but think how lucky he was to have the most gorgeous woman as his wife laying here in front of him. He leaned back in and began kissing her again. Gabriella ran her hands under Troy's shirt and finally got it pulled up and over his head. They laid there for a few minutes, both getting more turned on by their make out session. Troy reached around behind Gabriella and unclipped her bra, slinging it off of her and to the floor. He began leaving wet kisses on her breasts. Gabriella moaned at this new contact. She felt like she was in heaven and couldn't believe how good it felt to have Troy touch her. She was actually enjoying it. Finally feeling brave, she reached down and began to slide Troy's boxer shorts down his legs. When he got them kicked off, Gabriella reached down and began to stroke him. She flipped them over so she was on top and kept stroking him.

Troy kept moaning, letting her know how she was making him feel. "Brie…don't stop…." Gabriella continued to stoke him until he finally released. "You're turn…" Troy flipped them back over and began kissing Gabriella again, leaving a trail of kisses from her mouth to the waistband of her panties, then skipping down to her thighs all the way down to her toes. Troy began pulling her panties down her legs as he kissed his way back up.

When he finally slipped her panties off he moved himself back up to look her in the eye. He kissed her deeply with all the passion he had. He slipped one hand down into her wetness and stuck one finger inside her. She moaned at this sudden contact. He rubbed her a few minutes before sticking another finger in. By the time he had stuck three fingers in, he had Gabriella bucking against his hand, moaning his name.

Before she released he stopped. She just looked at him confused at why he stopped. He kissed her and she suddenly felt his hardness against her inner thigh. She gasped at the feeling of him and the nerves that had gone away suddenly came back. Troy looked her in the eye, as if asking if she was ready. She nodded her head, though she was unsure if she really was or not. She felt his tip enter her. She closed her eyes tightly as he entered her more. Suddenly visions of _that_ night came flooding back to her. She gasped and began to cry. Troy stopped what he was doing and instantly became concerned.

"Hey…what's wrong? Did I hurt you?" He began to panic when the only response he got from her was more sobbing. He rolled off of her and wrapped her in his arms, whispering words of encouragement and love into her ear. After a few more minutes, the sobbing finally subsided and she looked up at Troy.

"I'm so sorry Troy." Gabriella got up and ran to the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it behind her. She slumped down the door and sat on the floor, crying more.

Troy got up and followed her, only to have the door shut in his face. "Brie?...Brie?..." Troy tried opening the door but found that it was locked. "Brie, please let me in or come back out here. Why are you crying? Did I hurt you?" All Troy could hear was Gabriella's sobs. "Brie, please talk to me. What's wrong?"

Gabriella could hear the concern in his voice. She slowly stood up and opened the door. "I'm sorry, Troy. I ruined your wedding night. I'm so stupid…"

"Hey…hey…don't talk like that. You didn't ruin anything. What are you crying about? Did I hurt you?" Troy stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms.

"No…it's just I couldn't help but see that guy…." Her voice trailed off as she suddenly got distant again. Troy just wrapped her tighter in his arms and let her cry more. _How could that bastard do that? She'll be forever haunted by him because of that one night._

Troy led Gabriella back over to the bed and they sat there, wrapped up in each other's embrace. After a while of just sitting there, Gabriella looked up at Troy and knew by the love she saw in his eyes that he would never do anything to hurt her. "Can we try again? This is something I need to do. I need to overcome this fear of him that I have."

"Now, how can I say no to you about that?" Troy said with a smirk. "But are you sure? We don't have to do this. I'm content just laying here with you in my arms."

"I'm sure. I need to do this." Troy nodded at her and leaned in to kiss her again. After a few minutes of making out, Troy could tell she was getting into it again and was getting turned on. When she nodded at him to let him know she was ready, he leaned down next to her ear whispering "Look me in the eyes, it's going to be ok. I love you." He kissed her again as he began entering her. He got about half way in this time before she started to get tense and had a scared look on her face with tears in her eyes. "Just keep looking at me, keep your eyes open." She nodded at him and moved slightly to adjust to him better. When he was completely in her he just laid there and looked her in the eyes, letting her get used to the feeling of him in her. "I love you, Brie, so much," he said before he began to thrust in and out. After a couple minutes, Gabriella began to moan in pleasure and began meeting Troy's thrusts. "Troy…harder please…faster…" Troy did as she asked and soon they were both moaning each other's names loudly as they each reached their peak. Troy thrust into Gabriella a few more times, and then collapsed on her. She looked up into his eyes and smiled. "Thank you, Troy. I love you so much." She leaned up and kissed him.

Troy smiled at her and rolled off of her, pulling her into his side. Gabriella snuggled up next to him, laying her head in the crook of his neck. "I love you, too, Brie…more than you will ever know. Are you ok?"

Gabriella sat up so she could look at him. "Better than ok. Maybe even ready for round two." She smirked at him as he raised his eyebrows.

"Round two? God, woman, you are going to be the death of me."

"Oh…well…if that's how you feel, I will just go take a shower then call it a night." Gabriella started to get out of bed.

Troy grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back into him. "Oh no you don't! I never said I didn't want to; you're just going to wear me out. But I think I'm up for another round tonight." Troy wiggled his eyebrows suggestively then leaned over to kiss her. Gabriella shoved Troy into the mattress then crawled over to straddle his hips. _Yep, she's definitely going to be the death of me. She just started and she's already a pro._


	15. Just When She Thought

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 15 – Just When She Thought…**

_6 Months Later_

Troy and Gabriella were lying in bed. They had both moved out of their apartments and into a larger house where Annabelle would have lots of space to play as she grew up. Troy had adopted her, so she now had his last name. Gabriella couldn't be happier.

Today, however, Gabriella was nervous. She hadn't told Troy, but she had a doctor's appointment today. She was waiting until he went to work so that she could go. She didn't want to worry him with anything, but she had been feeling weird lately and wanted to go get checked out.

Troy stirred next to Gabriella, opening his eyes and looking at her. He smiled and reached out to rub some hair out of her face. "Good morning, beautiful wife."

"Good morning."

Troy sighed. "I'll never get tired of waking up next to you every morning." Gabriella smiled. "So what are your plans for the day?"

Gabriella had quit her teaching job at the school so that she could take care of Annabelle full time. "Uh…well…I don't know." She wasn't ready to tell Troy about the doctor's appointment. She wanted to wait until she found out something before she mentioned to Troy that she hadn't been feeling well.

"Oh…ok. Well I've got to get ready for work, but tonight when I get home, would you want to get your mom to babysit for us so we could go out to dinner?"

"Yeah, that would be nice. I'll call her today and ask." This would be the perfect opportunity to tell Troy if there was anything wrong with her.

Troy kissed her then got up to go take a shower. Gabriella went downstairs to fix breakfast.

Troy came down a little while later dressed and ready for work. He sat down and ate his breakfast. As he ate, he sat there thinking and watching Gabriella, who was quietly eating her food, not even looking at Troy. _Brie has been acting kinda weird lately. I wonder if she is ok. She's been hesitant towards me and really quiet. I hope I didn't do anything wrong._

Later that day, Gabriella left Annabelle with her mom and went to the doctor's office. She had told her mom what was going on, but her mom promised not to say anything to Troy just yet.

When Troy got off of work, he came home to find Gabriella singing in the living room as she vacuumed. _Well that's a change from previous days._ Troy walked up behind Gabriella and slipped his arms around her waist. She jumped slightly because she hadn't realized he was home. She shut the vacuum off. "Good day?"

"Only the best." Troy gave Gabriella a confused look.

"What did you do today to make it the best?"

"Not much really. I ran some errands today, dropped Annabelle off at my mom's. We're free for the night. I'll pick Annabelle up in the morning. My mom agreed to keep her all night so we could have some time to ourselves."

"Oh, really? Well that was awfully nice of her. So what time are we going out to dinner?

"Whenever you go get changed." Troy realized for the first time what Gabriella was wearing. She had already gotten ready for the evening.

Troy hurried upstairs to get ready and came back down fifteen minutes later looking more handsome than ever.

"Shall we?" Troy asked as he offered Gabriella his arm.

Gabriella grinned and took his arm. They left and went to a small Italian restaurant not too far from their house.

When they got back to their house, Gabriella grabbed Troy's hand and pulled him into the living room. "Come here, I have a present for you."

Troy looked confused. "Is today something that I should have remembered?"

Gabriella laughed at this. "No, I just wanted to give you something. Am I not allowed to do that?"

"No…I mean…yes, you can. I was just confused."

Gabriella handed Troy a rectangular shaped gift. "Open it." Troy looked up at Gabriella from the gift and saw that she was chewing on her bottom lip, something he knew she did when she was nervous. "I hope you like it."

Troy opened the gift and saw a picture inside of a picture frame. But not just any picture – a sonogram. "Aww…the first picture you had of Annabelle. That's so sweet. I love it. I'll put this on my desk at work." Troy leaned in to kiss Gabriella's lips, but got her forehead instead as she looked down.

Troy looked at her confused. "Why didn't I think of that before I gave it to you?"

"What are you talking about, Brie?"

Gabriella looked up at Troy. "That's not Annabelle."

Troy frowned. "Well then who is it?" Then it clicked. "Wait…you're pregnant?"

Gabriella nodded slightly, nervous once again about Troy's reaction. But Troy looked at her and smiled widely then scooped her up in his arms before kissing her with more passion than she had ever felt from him. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers and looked her in the eyes. "You have made me the happiest man alive today."

Gabriella smiled. "I'm glad, because I wasn't exactly sure how you were going to take it."

"What do you mean? I'm going to be a father again! Of course I would be happy about that."

"Yeah, but it's just so soon after us getting married and Annabelle isn't even a year old yet. I was just nervous that you wouldn't want a baby yet."

"Honestly, you could have told me on our wedding day that you were pregnant and I would have been happy about it. Nothing makes me happier than to know that you are the mother of my children." Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella again, slower this time, but with all the passion in the world. When they leaned back from the kiss, Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand and led her over to the couch and pulled her onto his lap.

"So how long have you known and why didn't you tell me sooner so I could go with you to the appointment?

"Well actually I just found out today. This morning when you asked me what I was doing, I knew that I was going to the doctor today, I just was nervous to tell you. So when I found out, I knew I needed to make it special when you found out."

"Well I seriously couldn't be happier right now. So how far along are you?"

"Six weeks."

"Wow, when are you due?"

"The doctor said I should be due in mid-October."

"Well I promise this time I will be there for the birth." Gabriella laughed. Troy and Gabriella stayed on the couch, Gabriella's head on Troy's shoulder with his arms around her, just sitting quietly together enjoying simply being with each other. Just when Gabriella thought things couldn't get better….they did.


	16. It's Too Soon

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 16 – It's Too Soon**

Eight-month pregnant Gabriella sat on the sofa watching TV while Annabelle was down for her nap. Troy was at work for the day. Gabriella hadn't been feeling well today and was trying to rest. She had been having pains, but nothing like contractions; just small ones. She didn't think it was anything to worry about. However, when she stood up to go into the kitchen, she felt liquid running down her leg.

_Oh my god! It's too soon! I shouldn't be going into labor!_ Gabriella started freaking out. She called her mom.

"Hello?"

"Mom, I need you to come take care of Annabelle. I'm in labor!"

"What?! It's too soon, though! You shouldn't be in labor this soon! Are you sure you are?"

"Mom, my water broke…I'm positive…just get here soon!"

"I'm on my way!"

Gabriella hung up with her mom and called Troy, hopeful that his phone was on where he would hear it, even if it was during one of his classes.

"Come on…pick up please!" Gabriella said as she listened to the constant ringing.

"_Hey, you've reached Troy. Leave me a message." (beep)_ "Troy please call me back! I'm in LABOR!!!"

Gabriella hung up but decided not to wait on Troy to call her back. She called the school instead to have Troy paged.

"East High, Kathy speaking."

"Kathy, its Gabriella. I need you to page Troy, please! It's an emergency!"

"Oh, hi, Mrs. Bolton. Certainly. Just a moment."

Gabriella waited impatiently as the contraction pain worsened. A few minutes had passed and Troy finally picked up.

"Hey babe, what's wrong."

"Troy, I need you to come get me now! I'm in labor!!"

"Are you serious? Are you sure? Oh my god! Uh…I'll be right there."

Troy hung up quickly and told the principal what was going on. The principal told him to not worry about a thing and Troy ran as fast as he could out of the school.

Five minutes later, Troy was pulling into his driveway. He barely got the car turned off before he was jumping out and running inside the house.

"Brie? Brie! Where are you?"

"We're in here," Ms. Montez said from the living room. Troy ran in and saw both women sitting on the couch as Ms. Montez was trying to comfort Gabriella through another contraction.

As soon as the contraction was over, Troy grabbed the overnight bag and helped Gabriella up off the couch and into the car. She sat quietly the whole way to the hospital, occasionally doubling over in pain from a contraction. Troy held Gabriella's hand the whole way, saying words of encouragement to Gabriella letting her know that he was here for her and everything was going to be ok.

They got to the hospital and checked in. Gabriella was in labor for 3 more hours before it was time to deliver. Troy and Gabriella had decided to wait to find out the sex of the baby until it was born so they were both anxious to see if they had a son or another daughter.

Troy went with Gabriella into the delivery room and was by her side the whole time. A beautiful baby boy was born to them.

"Would you like to the do the honors of cutting the cord, Dad?" the doctor asked.

Troy beamed and nodded his head. He had just cut the cord and was staring at his newborn son when he heard monitors suddenly start going off. He whipped around in the direction the sounds were coming from and saw Gabriella's still form laying on her bed.

"Her heart rate is decreasing." "She's losing blood."

Troy heard these two things, and then shut out the rest of what the doctors were saying as he stood there staring at his wife, scared at what was happening. Finally a doctor grabbed him and pushed him out the door. "I'm sorry, but you can't be in here while we work. We'll let you know something as soon as we can."

Troy stood there alone in the long hallway, speechless. _What was going on? What was happening to his Brie? He needed to know! She couldn't leave him now! Not with a new baby boy and a beautiful daughter at home. He needed her, now more than ever!_

Troy finally walked down to the waiting room and sat. It was several hours later when he felt someone shaking his shoulder. He sat up and realized he had fallen asleep. He looked up to see the doctor that had made him leave her room earlier.

"How's Brie? Is everything ok?"

"Mrs. Bolton is stable, but she has been placed in ICU. She is unconscious right now. We're hoping that she awakens soon, but the chances are not in her favor. She had some amniotic fluid slip into her bloodstream shortly after delivery that caused some complications. However, your son is just fine. He is a very healthy boy who I'm sure would enjoy being held by his father."

Troy could only nod. _His Brie was in ICU…she was unconscious…she had complications…_All he could think of was Brie. But he knew he had a new baby to think about now too. He decided that he would go see the baby first, and then go to check on Brie.

When he arrived at the nursery, he saw lots of babies. He went inside and told the nurse the last name. She led him over to a baby bed that said "Baby Bolton". Troy picked up the boy and looked at him. He looked just like Gabriella, except for his eyes. He had Troy's eyes. Troy walked over to a rocker and sat down, still staring at the baby in his arms. Tears came to his eyes. _How could this world be so cruel to give me a beautiful baby, only to possibly take away the most important person in my life?_

Troy sat there and cried, the tears slowly trailing down his face as he watched his son sleep. He sat there for about 20 minutes, slowly rocking the baby until he decided he needed to go check on Brie. He told the nurse he would be back later. She nodded and took Baby Bolton back to his bed.

Troy left and went to the ICU unit where he had been told he would find Gabriella. He went to her room and saw her lying very still on the bed. She was very pale and had monitors of all kinds hooked up to her. She was still unconscious. He walked over to the side of her bed where a chair was sitting. He sat down and took Gabriella's hand in his. He softly stroked it and began talking to her.

"We have a beautiful baby boy, did you know that? I just got to hold him for the first time. He looks just like you except for his eyes. He has my eyes." Tears started coming to Troy's eyes again. "Brie…you know…you need to wake up. I can't be a parent without you. I need you here with me, taking care of these amazing kids that we have been blessed with. Annabelle needs you. And our son needs you. We haven't even chosen a name for him yet. He needs a name, and I really don't want to choose one without you. We really never got the chance to talk about names." Troy was silent for a moment, and then softly whispered, "Come on Brie. You can fight this, I know you can. You just have to. I can't live without you." Troy broke down in sobs and sat there crying for a few minutes as he watched Gabriella for any signs that she was responding to him…none.

When the crying ceased, Troy remembered that he hadn't called anyone to tell them what was going on, especially Ms. Montez. He quickly got out his phone and called his house.

"Hello, Bolton residence."

"Ms. Montez, its Troy."

"Troy! How's my girl? Do you have a baby yet?"

"Yes, we do. We have a healthy boy. But there's some bad news…"

"What? What happened?"

"Brie had some complications after the delivery. She's unconscious and she's been put in ICU. They're not sure if she will wake up." Troy started crying again

"Oh my god! My poor baby!" Ms. Montez started crying as well. "You stay by her side. Don't worry about Annabelle. I'll take care of her and I'll let everyone know. It'll be alright, Troy. I know it. Gabriella's a fighter, especially when you are around. You make her stronger. Just give her time."

"It's just so hard. I wish she would wake up right now so that I wouldn't have to worry anymore. I just want her to be ok. I can't live without her."

"I know, Troy. But you have to be strong for her and your new baby, no matter what happens."

"Thanks, Ms. Montez."

Troy hung up the phone. He stood up and leaned down to kiss her softly on the forehead then whispered in her ear, "Please wake up, Brie. I love you so much."

Troy sat back down in the chair. He leaned forward and rested his head on the bed next to Gabriella, watching her breathing softly. He slowly drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep.


	17. 24 Hours

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 17 – 24 Hours**

When Troy awoke, he looked around, confused by his surroundings. Then he looked down and saw Gabriella, still lying unconscious in the hospital bed.

"Oh, Brie. You have to wake up. I need you so much. And our daughter and son both need you. You have to wake up so we can name our son. He needs a name other than Baby Bolton." Troy sat there and stared at Gabriella. He began to cry again. He had never cried so much before in his life. But Brie was his life now and he couldn't stand the thought that his life might get taken away from him. "Brie, please wake up. I can't live without you."

Gabriella still didn't respond. Troy decided that he would get up and go for a walk. He walked to the nursery to see his son. As he sat there rocking the little boy, he kept thinking about how much different life would be if Gabriella didn't wake up. He shook his head. _I shouldn't be thinking like this. Brie _will_ wake up. She has to. I can't be a single parent. I can't raise two kids on my own. I don't even know how she did it with Annabelle for the time that she took care of her on her own._

After putting the little boy back in his bed, Troy walked back upstairs. When he began walking down the hall that Gabriella's room was on, he saw doctors rushing into her room. He started running down the hall. When he reached her room, he ran in, but a doctor stopped him right inside the door.

"Sorry son, you can't come in here."

"But that's my wife. What's going on?"

"Let's step out in the hall."

When they stepped out in the hall the doctor closed the door behind them so Troy wasn't able to see what was going on.

"Gabriella is having some more complications. I'm afraid that we have reached our limits and are not going to be able to do much more. These next 24 hours are going to be crucial. If she wakes up, that's great and she could pull through with little or no more complications. But if she doesn't the chances of her waking up again are very small. I'm so sorry Mr. Bolton."

Troy stood there in shock. _How could this be happening? Brie had so much life to live. She couldn't give up now._

"When can I go back in and see her?"

"As soon as the doctors get her stabilized again and leave the room."

Troy waited for a few more minutes before the doctors finally came out and smiled sadly at him. He walked back into Gabriella's room and looked at her pale form. He went over and sat in the chair beside her bed and spoke softly to her.

"You know, Brie, I was just thinking about how much different life would be if you weren't here, and I don't even want to begin imagining what life would be like if I lost you. That's why you have to fight this thing. I know you can do it. I've seen you fight other obstacles in your life, so I know you have it in you to fight this." Troy sat back and just watched Gabriella. He stayed the whole day at the hospital, praying for some kind of miracle as the 24 hour period quickly slipped by. Periodically he got up to go see their son to make sure he was still ok.

When he got back to Gabriella's room for the fifth visit of the day, he went and sat back down in the chair that he had been occupying for most of the day. He leaned over and laid his head in his hands. The day had been exhausting for him, not only physically, but emotionally as well. He let out a loud, long sigh. He was sitting there thinking and hoping for a miracle when he started feeling fingers run through his hair. He looked up and blue met brown for the first time in over 24 hours. He sat there shocked at first, but then smiled at his wife.

"You look horrible, Troy," Gabriella said in a hoarse voice.

Troy laughed a heartfelt laugh. "Thanks, sweetheart. I do feel horrible, though. I was so worried about you."

"I'm here now, though. I'm not leaving you. What happened?"

"You had some complications during the delivery of our son. They told me this morning that the next 24 hours would be crucial. As the hours ticked by I was so worried that you weren't going to wake up."

"Where is our son? Did you name him?"

"He's in the nursery. No, I didn't name him. I wanted to do that with you. We really hadn't decided on a name so I wanted to know what you thought."

"Can you go get him and we can talk about a name when you get back?"

"Sure. I'll be right back. I'm going to go tell the doctor that you're awake too."

Troy went and talked to the doctor before going to get their son from the nursery. When he got back to Gabriella's room, the doctors were just finishing up checking on Gabriella.

One doctor stopped Troy before he went into Gabriella's room. "Mr. Bolton, your wife is doing surprisingly well. She's very lucky, as are you. We want to monitor her for a couple more days and run some more tests, but if everything goings smoothly, she'll be able to go home in a couple of days.

"Thanks, doctor, for everything,"

Troy walked into Gabriella's room. "Hey, Mommy, meet your son."

As soon as Gabriella saw him, she gasped. She reached out to take him from Troy and cuddled him in her arms close to her body. He was a beautiful baby boy with those blue eyes that she could stare into forever.

"He's so beautiful, Troy."

"He looks just like you."

"But with your eyes. What should we name him?"

"I like the name Caleb."

"I do, too. I like Alexander, too, just like your middle name."

"Caleb Alexander," Troy said, as he stared at his son.

"Caleb Alexander," Gabriella repeated. "It's perfect."

Troy leaned over and kissed Gabriella for the first time since she had awoken, then kissed Caleb's head. Caleb stirred in his mother's arms, but settled right back into her quickly.

"I love you, Troy, and our kids so much."

"I love you, too. I was so worried about you. I didn't know the first thing about being a single parent and couldn't imagine trying to raise our two kids without you by my side."

"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore because I'm not going anywhere."


	18. Surprise!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 18 – Surprise!**

_Two Years Later_

Gabriella was at home today by herself while Troy was at work. Caleb was down for a nap while Annabelle was sitting in the living room floor playing with some toys. Gabriella was putting some new pictures in photo albums for the kids when she heard a knock at the door.

When she opened the door, she gasped at who it was. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Gabi, I came to see you. I need to talk to you."

"David, I don't think we have anything to talk about and we haven't for a long time. I think it would just be best if you left."

"Please. I really need to talk to you."

"Ok." She let him in and led him to the living room so she could keep an eye on Annabelle while they talked.

David sat down and watched Annabelle play. "How did you know where I lived?"

"I still had your mom's number and I called her. I told her that I really just needed to talk to you while I was in town and she gave me your address."

"Oh. Yeah, she still doesn't know how or why we actually broke up so she probably doesn't have any hard feelings against you."

"Well, I'm glad because I really wanted to see you. Is this your daughter?"

"Yeah, this is Annabelle."

"She's a beautiful little girl. She looks just like you."

"Yeah, thankfully. That is what everyone says. So what did you need to talk to me about?"

"Gabi," David said, as he reached over and grabbed Gabriella's right hand. "I made a mistake. I was an asshole when you broke up with me. It isn't your fault that you got pregnant or ended up in any of those situations. I should have treated you with more decency than I did. I was just scared because I didn't think I was ready to become a father. Plus, you deserved more. I was on the road all the time and we hardly ever saw each other. So I want to apologize for everything. For walking out on you when you needed someone the most. For not ever answering your phone calls or returning your calls when you left a voicemail. I'm sorry for all of that and more."

"David, it's ok. I forgave you a long time ago. You know, not long after you walked out on me I was beginning to think that all men were the same. That every time I tried to let a guy get close to me, its like he realized what was going on and the next thing I knew he was walking out of my life. When Annabelle was born, Troy also walked out on me. I was so devastated. It seemed like every time I was trying to handle a difficult situation and needed someone there to help me through it, the person I tried to lean on the most decided to leave me."

David began rubbing circles on Gabriella's hand. "Well one of the things that I wanted to tell you was that I have quit my music career. I am going to try to find something music related to do but I want it to be a local thing. I'm done with traveling and being away from home all the time. I want to be closer to family. I want to be able to start my own family. Gabi, I'm ready to be a father, and if you'll have me I want to be your husband and the father of your children. I still love you so much." David leaned in and kissed Gabriella, giving her no time to respond.

Gabriella sat there in shock. Just as she was about to push David away and explain everything to him, the front door opened and Troy walked in.

"Brie, I'm…WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!?!"

Gabriella shoved David off of her and ran towards Troy. "Troy, I can explain. It really wasn't what it looked like."

"Well it looks to me like you were making out with your ex-boyfriend. You know what? I don't care. If this is what you want, take it. I'm out of here." Troy stormed out the door, not giving Gabriella a second glance or time to explain anything.

David stepped next to Gabriella. "Gabi, what was that all about? Does Troy live here? Are you two involved?"

Gabriella sighed as tears came to her eyes. "David, I'm married to Troy. I was going to explain that to you after you got done talking, but you didn't give me time. I've screwed everything up! What if Troy doesn't come back? What am I supposed to do? I can't live without him!"

David hugged Gabriella as she cried. "You know what? I'm going to fix this for you. I screwed it up and I'm going to take care of it. Stay here with Annabelle and I'll go talk to Troy and explain everything."

"Thanks, but if I know him, he's not going to want to talk to you let alone even listen to anything you have to say."

"I can at least try." David left Gabriella standing there. Gabriella went to sit down and sat on the couch crying, hoping that Troy would come back to her.

David didn't have to go far to find Troy. David drove about 3 blocks before he saw Troy's car pulled over on the side of the street. He pulled up behind Troy and got out. When David reached Troy's window, Troy had his head laid on the steering wheel and he was crying. David knocked on the window and Troy sat up and looked at him with red, puffy eyes.

"What do you want?"

"Can you get out of the car for a minute so I can talk to you? Please?"

Troy thought about it for a minute before he finally got out of the car.

"If you could just let me explain everything before you jump down my throat that would be great." Troy nodded. "I know I am probably the last person you want to see right now and you may not believe anything I am about to tell you, but I just want you to know that you have a wife back at home who loves you more than anything in this world."

Troy snorted, not believing that. _If she loved me so much, she wouldn't have been kissing another man, especially her ex-boyfriend._

"I didn't realize you guys were married until after you left. I came back looking for Gabi, hoping that she hadn't gotten into a relationship. She was very hesitant in even letting me in your house. But she finally did and I did most of the talking. I was trying to get her back and after I told her how I felt, I just leaned in and kissed her. I didn't give her time to explain that she was in a relationship or that she didn't feel that way for me anymore. But I can tell she doesn't have feelings for me anymore. If it makes you feel any better, she didn't kiss back."

"You think that makes me feel better?! I'll show you what makes me feel better!" Suddenly, Troy punched David in the face. David lifted his hand to his nose where he had received the blow. He pulled his hand away and looked at it. It was covered in blood, and his nose was probably broken. He just looked at Troy. _How can Gabi be married to a man like this?_

Troy looked at David. "Aren't you even going to stand up for yourself?"

"What, and hit you back? What's that going to prove? How is that going to solve the problem? Listen, dude, you have a real problem. Your wife is at home, and if I know her well enough, she is sitting there probably trying to take care of Annabelle, crying her eyes out because one more person walked out on her. Why don't you think about that for a while?"

Troy was mad now. "You don't know her. You haven't been around for nearly four years. But I'm sure that by what I saw she still needs you more." Troy jumped back in his car and sped down the street.

David got back in his car and drove back to Gabriella's. When he got there and Gabriella saw the blood, she immediately pulled him inside.

"Oh my god! What happened?"

"Well I talked to Troy, but I don't think anything I said mattered. I tried to explain everything and he heard me out but I don't think he actually listened to anything I said. But after I got done talking he just punched me. I didn't want to start a fight so I just stood there. I didn't even hit back. He actually wanted me to I think because he asked me if I was going to defend myself. But after that he just drove off. Gabi, I don't know where he's going or when he'll be back, but give him some time. I'm sure he'll come around."

"I don't know, David. The last time I pushed him away he actually packed his bags. I know that was before we were married, but still. If I hadn't gone to his apartment that day, he would be gone. Here, let me get some ice for you." Gabriella got up and went to get an ice pack. After she left the room, David noticed another child in the room besides Annabelle, a little boy quietly playing with some building blocks. When Gabriella came back a minute later, David looked up at her slightly confused.

"You have two kids?"

"Yeah, Annabelle and Caleb. Caleb is two years old."

"Where was he earlier when I was here?"

"He was taking a nap. Here put this on your nose. It's starting to swell."

David did as he was told but still stared at Gabriella. _I have to help her get Troy to understand. I can't stand to see their marriage break apart just because of me, especially with these two kids involved._

"Momma, where's daddy?" Annabelle asked.

"Daddy was upset and went to think for a while. He'll be back later."

"Oh, ok. I want Daddy."

"I know, Sweetie, but we'll have to wait until he gets back. Why don't you take Caleb and go play in your room until he gets here so Mommy can talk to her friend David, ok?"

"Ok."

David was heartbroken at the sight of this sad little girl. Gabriella turned to David and that is when he noticed that she had tears in her eyes. He scooted closer to her on the couch and put his arms around her and hugged her.

"David, what if he doesn't come back? I don't want to live without him. I _can't_ live without him. I have two kids to think about now, too."

"Yeah, but so does he. If he is a decent man, he will think about his kids above himself."

"But what if he doesn't love me anymore? I don't want to live the rest of my live in a loveless marriage, and I can't make him love me again."

"I'm sure he still loves you, just give him time. Listen, I better go before he comes back, that way we don't have a repeat of earlier. But give him time, don't push him. He'll come home when he's ready. If you need anything, though, let me know. I'll be here for you."

"Thank you, David. I'm glad you are back in town."

"You're welcome. See you later."

"Bye."

David left Gabriella sitting on the couch. Later that night, when it was time for the kids to go to bed, Gabriella put Caleb to bed, and then went to read a bedtime story to Annabelle. After Annabelle fell asleep, Gabriella turned out the light and walked back into the living room. She grabbed a picture of her and Troy and sat down on the couch and thought about how the day had turned out as she stared at the picture. _If I had known how bad the day was going to be, I wouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning. Troy, please come home. I need you so much!_ Gabriella began crying again, as she had several times that day, and cried herself to sleep, holding the picture close to her.

That is where Troy found her when he finally came home halfway through the night. He had gone into their bedroom and when he hadn't found her in their bed, he had panicked, thinking that she had actually left him for David. When he went back into the living room, though, he saw her fast asleep on the couch. He knelt down beside her and just watched her sleep. He saw all of the tear stains on her cheeks. He had finally thought about what David had told him. _David didn't know that they were married. She hadn't kissed him back. David didn't give her time to respond._ Troy finally saw the picture that Gabriella was holding against her and smiled. _She really does still love me._

Troy leaned over and softly kissed Gabriella's cheek, then down her jaw, then finally her lips. He kept kissing her lips until she finally shoved him away and sat up. He looked at her confused, then she saw who was sitting in front of her. She grabbed Troy and hugged him as close to her as she could. She began crying again. Troy scooped her up in his arms and sat on the couch as he pulled her on his lap. She laid her head on his shoulder as she continued to cry. Troy rubbed her back until she finally went back to sleep. _We'll talk in the morning. I think we have both had enough for one night._ Troy repositioned them both on the couch so they were laying side by side, her securely in his arms as he drifted off to sleep.


	19. No Doubt About It

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 19 – No Doubt About It**

When Troy awoke the next morning, he was alone on the couch and the house was quiet. _Was last night all just a dream? Where is Brie?_ Troy got up and went to look for his family. When he went to each of the kids' rooms, he noticed they were both gone, as was Gabriella. _That's weird. Brie didn't mention going anywhere. Then again, we really haven't had a chance to talk._

Troy walked back into the kitchen and found a note stuck to the refrigerator.

_Troy_

_The kids and I are shopping today with Sharpay. I don't know when we'll be back but I'm dropping the kids off with my mom before I come back. We need to talk. _

_Brie_

They did need to talk. Troy just didn't know when they would be back or how long they had been gone. He hadn't heard them leave or even known that Gabriella had gotten up off the couch. Troy went and showered then went back to the couch and sat and watched movies until mid-afternoon when he decided that he would cook Gabriella dinner since it would just be the two of them. He went into kitchen to see what they had that he could fix.

A couple hours later, Troy had dinner ready, along with a table set for two with candlelight. The only problem was, he still didn't know when Gabriella would be home. Troy sat and waited until finally he heard her come in the front door.

"Troy, are you home?"

"In here," he hollered from the dining room.

Gabriella sat her bags down, and then walked into the dining room. She gasped at the sight.

"I'm so sorry for yesterday. I was a total asshole and if you don't want to have dinner with me I will completely understand. But I love you so much, please don't ever doubt that. I just want to have a nice dinner with my beautiful wife and then we can talk."

Gabriella nodded as she blinked back tears. Troy held out a chair for her as she walked over to the table and sat down. Troy sat down and looked at her and smiled. Gabriella was still a little unsure about what to say to Troy, so their dinner was a quiet one.

After dinner, Troy told Gabriella to go relax as he cleaned up, then he would meet her in the living room. Gabriella nodded and turned to go put away the things she had bought that day. When Troy was finished cleaning, he went into the living room, but Gabriella wasn't in there so he sat on the couch and waited for her. A few minutes later, she came downstairs and sat beside him, leaving some room between them.

Troy looked over at Gabriella, confused at the distance she placed between them when she sat down. _Maybe I was wrong last night to assume that she still loves me. She is being so quiet and distant_.

Troy spoke softly to her, "Brie, will you please say something. You've been so quiet since you came home and it's starting to worry me."

"Troy, I just don't understand. What happened with you last night? First you storm out. Then you got in a fight with David. Then you didn't come home until halfway through the night. But when you did come home, its like you had never been mad at me. And now you're fixing me candlelit dinners?"

"Brie, I love you so much. I didn't stop. I was just hurt. I mean…look at it from my perspective. I come home from a long day at work, after a long week, excited to see you because you always brighten my day. And when I walk in I see you sitting here kissing your ex-boyfriend. It broke my heart and at the moment I couldn't stand the sight of either one of you. But I went and thought about everything for a while when all that David said to me finally clicked. You didn't kiss him back and he didn't give you time to even tell him you were married."

"Troy, I would never intentionally hurt you. Plus, I would never want to put what we have in jeopardy. I love you too much and I'll never stop loving you as long as I live. Like you said, David didn't give me time to respond. He just told me that he still has feelings for me and wanted me back, but before I could respond he kissed me. I was so stunned by his kiss that I didn't have time to react and push him away before you walked in the door." Gabriella started crying remembering how she spent her evening. "I didn't know where you went last night or if you would ever come back or if you would ever forgive me. I cried myself to sleep last night as I was looking at the picture of us on our wedding day, wishing that I could just go back to that day."

"I wouldn't want to go back to that day."

"Why not? That day was one of the happiest days of my life."

"Yeah it was for me, too. But think of all that has happened since then. If we went back, we wouldn't have Caleb and we would have to relive some of the worst struggles that we have ever faced. Like when Caleb was born. That started out as one of the happiest days of my life and ended as one of the worst. Plus, I haven't ever loved you as much as I do right now, not even on our wedding day. I didn't think it was possible, but it is. And I'm sure I will love you even more tomorrow."

"I love you, too, Troy, so much." Troy leaned over and kissed Gabriella softly. When he pulled back, Gabriella smiled at Troy.

Troy pulled Gabriella over onto his lap and kissed her again. "I'm so glad we worked this out. I was so worried last night that you were going to leave me for David. And then this morning when I woke up by myself I thought that having you in my arms again was all a dream, especially when the house was empty. I was afraid that you really had left me."

"Troy, I could never leave you, especially for David. David and I were over a long time ago, and that's the way it is going to stay. We did decide last night that we wanted to be friends, though."

Troy nodded and smiled. "Now, that I think I can handle…as long has he doesn't try to kiss you again." Troy chuckled as Gabriella lightly hit him on the arm.

Gabriella looked up and kissed Troy again, then leaned back and looked at him. "Troy, there is one more thing I need to talk to you about, though."

Troy noticed Gabriella had a nervous look on her face. "What is it, Brie?"

"I kinda lied to you." Gabriella looked down.

Troy looked confused. "What did you lie to me about?" Then Troy tensed up when he thought of David and he began to get mad. "Do you still have feelings for David? Did you kiss him back?"

Gabriella began to get even more nervous because she saw how mad Troy was getting. She tried to get up off his lap, afraid of his reaction, but he held her in place, with his arms securely around her waist.

Troy spoke to her, more softly this time, regretting speaking out in anger. "Brie, what is it? What did you lie about?"

"This morning when I told you I was going shopping with Sharpay. It wasn't the whole truth. I did go shopping with Sharpay, as you probably saw by the bags. But that isn't the only place I went. I didn't meet up with her until 1:00."

"Where did you go?"

"Well I went a couple of places actually. I did meet up with David, but only to tell him that you came home last night. He was really worried, Troy."

"Ok, where else did you go?"

"I went to the doctor."

"What? Why? Is everything ok? Have you been sick?"

"Yeah, I have been sick, but I didn't want to worry you so I didn't say anything until I knew what was going on."

"Brie, we have to communicate better. When something is wrong, I want to know. When you don't feel good, I want to know. Even if you think I am busy, I will make the time to be with you and listen to what you have to say. And if you're sick, I want you to tell me so I can be there for you when you go to the doctor. I want to go with you so that I can be sure you are ok and find out how I can help you get better."

"Well, then I suggest you get used to going to doctor's appointments because I am going to be going to several."

"Why? What did you find out?" Troy began to panic, thinking Gabriella must be very sick.

"How do you feel about three kids?"

"Three kids? We only have…you're pregnant?" Gabriella nodded. "Sweetheart, this is amazing! Oh my god, I'm so happy! I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that I'll be a father again, as long as you are always the mother of my children." Troy sighed in relief.

"Well I'd better be the only mother to your children."

Troy laughed. "There's no doubt about it."


	20. More Surprises

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 20 – More Surprises**

The next morning, Gabriella woke up to a quiet house. She looked over at Troy who was still sound asleep with his arms wrapped securely around her. _Better not get used to this. In about 7 ½ more months we'll be hearing more than just Annabelle and Caleb running around on a regular day._

Gabriella lay there and watched Troy sleep peacefully, wishing that they could stay like this the rest of the day, but knowing that the kids had to be picked up soon. Troy and Gabriella had spent most of the night making up for lost time making love. Gabriella had never felt so loved. Troy had said he hadn't ever loved her more and she could definitely feel that being radiated out of him.

"Would you stop staring? I know you can't get enough of me but I don't like it when people stare." Troy interrupted Gabriella's thoughts and startled her, as she didn't realize he was awake yet.

"Sorry, I was just thinking that I wish I could get used to this, but I know this is just a once in a while type thing."

"What? Waking up next to me? That's an every morning thing for the rest of our lives, baby. Something I look forward to every morning when I wake up."

"No, I don't mean that. I mean being able to spend nights like last night together and wake up the next morning feeling refreshed without two kids running through the house screaming."

Troy chuckled and opened his eyes for the first time to look at Gabriella. "I would have to agree with that. I could definitely get used to that, but I wouldn't trade our kids for the world."

"Me either. Now, get up, Lover Boy. I have some kids to go pick up from Grandma's before she kicks them out on the street and I want you dressed by the time we get back."

"Yes, ma'am." Troy saluted Gabriella and she playfully hit him in return.

Gabriella went to her mom's to pick up the kids and Troy stayed at home, trying to clean up a little before the kids came back to make a bigger mess.

Gabriella had been gone about 20 minutes when there was a knock at the door. Troy went to answer the door. A woman who looked vaguely familiar stood outside.

"Can I help you?"

"Troy?"

"Yes? Do I know you?"

"Well you should. I'm Stacy Richardson. We had Biology together at NYU and we dated for a few months."

"Oh…Stacy…hi. Can I do something for you? How did you find me?"

"Well I remembered back when we dated that you said you were from Albuquerque, so this is the first place I looked. I searched all the Bolton's until I finally found out where I could find you."

"Oh. So what made you look me up now, after what six seven years?"

"Well actually I need to talk to you and I didn't want to do it over the phone. Can I come in?"

"Oh…yeah…sure." Troy let her in and led her to the living room, confused as to why she was here.

"Troy, I have wanted to look you up for a few years now. I feel like we left each other on bad terms and I wanted to apologize for that."

"Stacy, its no big deal. I have gotten over that. I was over that a long time ago. I moved on," Troy said as he remembered back to when he had caught Stacy making out at a party with one of the guys who was on the basketball team with him.

"Well I still feel bad about it. I haven't gotten over it. You were my only boyfriend in college and the only guy that I ever had sex with. You were my first and my last, Troy."

"Stacy, I have to tell you. This conversation is getting awkward for me. I just don't know what to say other than please just tell me exactly why you are here."

"Troy, when we were together that last time, I got pregnant."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yes, Troy, I'm sure. I had a son. He's now six years old. You…we…have a son."

Troy sat there stunned. Of all the times for her to come find him it had to be now. He and Gabriella had just had this conversation last night and he told her there was no doubt she was the only mother of his children. Stacy was the only other girl he had ever been with, but he hadn't told Gabriella about her. He just assumed that if something like this had happened she would have said something to him before now.

"Why now? Why are you telling me this now? Why didn't you tell me back in college?"

"Because I thought that if I told you when I found out I was pregnant that you wouldn't care or you wouldn't believe me. I figured that if I told you, you would accuse me of sleeping with the guy you saw me making out with and think that the baby was actually his. It wasn't. I never slept with him, Troy. You are the only guy I have ever slept with so I know that Alex is yours. I want you to be a part of our lives, Troy. I want Alex to have a dad."

"Stacy, I don't know if I can do this. I'm married. I have two kids and one more on the way."

"Oh…you're married? I didn't realize."

"Yeah…I'm married. And I wouldn't trade it for the world. But I can't help but think how this is going to cause problems between my wife and me. I never told her about you and honestly I never really thought I needed to. I don't know if I can be a part of Alex's life, Stacy. I'm sorry."

"Troy, Alex needs you. I just moved here to Albuquerque so that he could be closer to you. I knew it was a small chance, but I was hoping you were still single so maybe we could try us again. Plus, Alex knows who his dad is. I show him pictures of you all the time. He has them in his room and he looks at them all the time, hoping that one day he will actually get to meet you."

"Stacy, I need to think about this for a while. This is all a lot of information to take in. Plus, I need to talk to my wife. This is going to be a big change for her, too."

"I understand. Just give me a call when you decide what you want to do." Stacy handed Troy a piece of paper with her number on it and left. Troy sat down on the couch with his head in his hands and couldn't believe what just happened. How was he going to tell Gabriella that she wasn't the only mother of his children…that he in fact had another child, mothered by a girl who he dated in college?

Troy sat there and thought about the whole situation and was still sitting there when his family came in the door. He looked up and tried to put on his best smile as he looked at the three of them. When he looked at Annabelle, though, he could help but think that she was no longer his oldest child. That he had a son who was a couple years older and was in need of a dad.

As the day went on, Troy tried to appear as if nothing was wrong and he spent the entire day just hanging out and having fun with his family. By the time they went to bed, Troy had decided that he couldn't tell Gabriella, at least not yet. However, when they finally climbed into bed, Gabriella rolled over and faced Troy.

"Troy, what's bugging you? You have been acting weird all day and you have seemed kinda distant. Is everything ok? You were fine this morning before I left to get the kids, but when I came back something was different. Did something happen while I was gone?"

Troy panicked. He wasn't ready to tell Gabriella but he knew he should. She deserved to know the truth. And the longer he waited to tell her, the worse the situation would be.

"Yeah, something did happen while you were gone."

"What is it? Is everything ok?"

"Well I don't really know. I guess it depends on how you look at it."

"What?"

"Gabriella, you know last night when we were talking about kids?"

"Yeah…why did you just call me Gabriella? You never call me Gabriella. Troy, you're starting to worry me. Are you having second thoughts about us having another baby? I'm sorry, but I can't take back the fact that I'm pregnant, you know that."

"Oh, honey, it's not that. I'm sorry. Promise me you won't get mad at what I'm about to say."

"Ok Troy, you're really worrying me now. Just say it. I promise I won't get mad."

"Ok, here goes. While you were gone to pick up the kids this morning, someone I knew in college stopped by to see me. Actually, it was a girl I dated back in college for a few months."

"Wait, I didn't know you dated anyone in college. Why didn't you ever tell me you were dating someone? How did I not know? We were always together."

"Well actually it was not long after you started dating David and you were preoccupied most of the time. I was so in love with you and was devastated that…"

Gabriella interrupted, "Wait a minute…you were in love with me back in college? You never told me that."

"Brie, I have loved you since the moment I saw you when we met at the ski lodge. I just didn't realize it until we started hanging out in high school."

"Why didn't you do something about it then?"

"I was too scared to. I didn't want to risk ruining our friendship. I wanted you in my life in some way and if I could only have you as a friend, then so be it. Anyways…as I was saying…I was so devastated by you dating David that I thought that if I got a girlfriend, it would help me to get over you."

"You wanted to get over me?"

"Well you had David and at that point I really didn't know how your relationship was going to go."

"So how did you meet this girl?"

"We had Biology together. She was a nice girl, but she wasn't you. But I still gave her the chance I thought she deserved. We dated for a while and I started liking more and more about her. Our relationship got physical, but after a few months of dating, apparently I wasn't enough for her and one night at a party I found her making out with one of my teammates."

"Physical? As in sex?"

Troy hesitated for a moment. "Yeah."

"Why didn't you ever tell me about this? I thought I was your first."

"I'm sorry. I just never thought it was important. You were the first one that it mattered with. With Stacy it was always just something to do, but with you, it is so much more. With you, it's our love. With you it's like a dance that we know all the steps to or a song that only we know the words and rhythm to. Brie, you have to know that sex is not something I take lightly, at least not anymore. Back in college, I thought that if I had sex with Stacy I would be able to get over how in love I was with you. But as you can see now, it didn't work." Troy smirked. "But now, sex is something that helps me to remember you and learn more about every part of you and helps to create little Brie's." Troy lightly rubbed Gabriella's belly, where their newest child was still growing and developing.

"Troy, what does all this have to do with kids? You said that what was bothering you referred back to our conversation last night about kids."

Troy sighed heavily and looked everywhere but at Gabriella. "Brie, Stacy came by today to see me because nearly seven years ago, she conceived a child…a son to be exact." Troy finally looked at Gabriella. "Brie, he's mine."

Gabriella looked at Troy with wide eyes. "You have another son? Why didn't you know about this before? Is she sure that he is yours?"

Troy nodded. "She said that I am the only guy that she has ever been with."

"So all that talk last night about me ever being the only mother of your children was a lie?"

"It wasn't that I lied to you, Brie. I just didn't know at the time. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner about Stacy. I just didn't think that it mattered. I mean, I would have thought that she would have come to me sooner about it…like back in college." Troy looked over to see Gabriella silently crying. He reached over and wrapped his arms around her. "Oh, Brie. I'm so sorry. I wish I could take it all back. I really do. If I could go back to any time at all, it would be high school and I would have told you how I really felt. Maybe then it would have saved all of the heartaches we have had."

Gabriella laid there and sobbed for quite a while before pulling herself from his grip and slipping out of bed. "I'm going to sleep in Annabelle's room tonight. I'll see you in the morning." Gabriella grabbed her pillow and started for the door.

Troy jumped out of bed and grabbed Gabriella by the waist and turned her around to face him. He wiped the tears from her face as she looked down at the floor. "If you're upset and want to be away from me, I understand. But I really am sorry. How about you take the bed, and I'll take the couch?" Troy walked back to the bed and grabbed his pillow and walked out the door, quietly shutting it behind him.

Around three in the morning, Troy woke up as he heard someone walk into the living room and sit down near him. He opened his eyes to see Gabriella sitting there staring at him.

"Brie? What is it? Are you ok?"

"Troy, please come back to bed. I can't sleep at all. I'm so sorry for acting the way I did. I was selfish and slightly jealous. Please come back to bed with me."

Troy nodded and got up from the couch. He slipped his arm around Gabriella and together they made their way back to their bedroom where they both got in bed and curled up together in one another's arms. They laid there for a while just listening to each other breathe, then finally Gabriella spoke up.

"Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did she feel the need to tell you now after all these years?"

"She is giving me the choice of whether or not to become a part of his life."

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know. What do you think I should do? You are as much a part of this as I am. I told her I had to discuss it with you first. I want you to be involved every step of the way if I choose to do this."

"I don't know if I can do that, Troy. I mean…I know he is your son, but it's just the thought of him having another mother."

"Babe, I'm sorry. I know this has to be hard on you. Honestly, if I could go back and redo everything, none of this would have ever happened."

"Let's talk about this more tomorrow. We should get some sleep."

Troy and Gabriella fell asleep not long after that, but for Troy it wasn't a very peaceful sleep. Why now? Within one weekend, Troy and Gabriella's marriage had suffered many hits to it.


	21. Confiding

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 21 – Confiding**

On Monday morning, Gabriella awoke to an empty bed. Troy had already gotten up and left for work. Gabriella laid there and thought about what she would do today. She really didn't have any plans for the day except to take care of the kids. She got up and fed the kids breakfast.

Later in the day when both kids were taking naps, Gabriella decided that she really needed to talk to someone about the whole situation with Troy having a son. She thought about who she could call and decided to try calling David since he was the only one who wasn't at work at the moment.

"Hello?"

"Hey David, it's Gabi."

"Oh…hey Gabi. How are you?"

"I've been better. Do you think you could come over so we could talk?"

"Yeah. Is everything ok?"

"I don't know. I just really need someone to talk to right now."

"Ok. I'll be over in a few minutes."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Bye."

Gabriella waited for David to come over. After what happened on Friday with David, she couldn't believe that she actually called him. But he seemed very sincere after the whole ordeal and she did want to still be friends with him.

About 10 minutes later, David knocked on the door and Gabriella let him in. They went in the living room and sat down on the couch. David looked at Gabriella and waited for her to speak. Gabriella started crying.

"David…everything is just so screwed up right now. I just don't know what to do anymore."

"What's going on? Did you and Troy work everything out?"

"Yeah…sort of."

"What do you mean 'sort of'?"

"Well we worked everything out from Friday so we're good there. Then Saturday night I told Troy that I'm pregnant and we got into a whole conversation about kids. He told me that there was no doubt that I was the only mother of his children. Well then yesterday when I went to pick up the kids from my mom's, an ex-girlfriend of his that he dated back when we were in college…at the same time that you and I were dating…stopped by here while I was gone. She announced to Troy unexpectedly that they have a son together who is now six years old. I just don't know what to do anymore, David."

"Well is Troy going to be a part of this little boy's life?"

"I don't know. He was still trying to decide that himself. He didn't really say whether he wanted to or not, just that if he decided to do it, he wanted me to be involved too. David, I don't know if I can do that, play mother to someone else's child. It just doesn't seem right."

"But this little boy is Troy's son, not just someone else."

"But I'm not his mother. He has a different mother."

"I can kinda see where you are coming from. But you also have to look at it from Troy's point of view. He just found out that he has another child whom he has never met. I think right now he really needs your support in helping him to decide what is best for not only your family but for this little boy too."

"You're right. Thanks, David. I knew you could help me."

David leaned over and hugged Gabriella, glad that he could help her out and still be part of her life, even if it wasn't in a way that he wished.

"Well I guess I better go. I know Troy will be home soon and we don't want a repeat of Friday."

"Yeah, that's true. But I don't think we will. Troy is ok with us being friends"

"Good, I'm glad. I'll see you later."

"Bye."

Gabriella shut the door behind David. It had been one long weekend; one that she was glad was in the past.

When Troy got home about half an hour later, Gabriella ran up to him and kissed him. When she pulled back, Troy looked at her surprised. "Good day?"

"Great. I had a lot of thinking time today and I'm ready for us to sit down and finish our conversation from last night."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So maybe when the kids go to bed tonight we can talk."

"Sounds good."

Later that night when Annabelle and Caleb went to bed, Troy and Gabriella sat on the couch cuddled up together and began discussing Alex.

"Troy, I think that if you want to be involved in Alex's life, then you should. I don't want to hold you back. I was being selfish last night and was only thinking of how I felt about the situation, rather than how you might be feeling."

"Seriously? You think it would be ok to get involved?"

"Of course. He is your son, after all, and he deserves to know his father."

Troy smiled and leaned over to kiss Gabriella. "Oh, Brie. You don't realize how happy you have made me. I may regret being in that relationship, but I have another son that I would like to get to know. I don't want to neglect him, especially since he knows who I am."

"Well, then I suggest you give his mother a call and set up a time to meet him."

Troy kissed Gabriella again. He was so happy that she was supporting him through this huge step he was about to take. He just hoped that he didn't regret taking the step.


	22. Girls Weekend and Hanging Out

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 22 – Girls Weekend and Hanging Out**

When Troy called Stacy the next day to let her know that he would like to meet with Alex, Stacy was elated. They set up a time to just meet at the park. Troy and Alex ended up playing basketball, which, Troy found out, was something Alex was very good out for his age.

"I wanted to be just like you, Daddy. Mommy told me you were a very good basketball player."

"Yeah, I used to be. I don't get to play much anymore."

Stacy smiled. "Well maybe that is something that you and Alex will have to start doing. You could get together once in a while just to play basketball."

"Yeah…I like that idea." Troy said.

The first meeting with Alex went very well. Troy learned that Alex is a very well behaved child and they have a lot in common. Troy actually looked forward to the next time he could hang out with his son and get to know him better.

Over the next few weeks, Troy spent a lot of time trying to get to know Alex. Alex stayed overnight with the Bolton's a couple of times so he could get to know the rest of the family as well. He really bonded with Annabelle, which made Troy even happier with the situation.

As Troy became more involved in Alex's life, Gabriella couldn't help but feel a little jealous over how well they were bonding. _I guess that is just the way he is with kids. Look at how well he ended up bonding with Annabelle._ But with all of the new situations that had arisen in the Bolton's lives, Gabriella was beginning to become stressed. She and Troy were both doing better in their marriage, but there were still some strains there. They still had some problems communicating, and Gabriella was beginning to feel like Troy spent more time with Alex than the rest of his family.

Troy began to see how stressed Gabriella was becoming and suggested a weekend away with the girls. He had talked to Gabriella's friends Taylor and Sharpay, and they had also begun to see the stress building. They agreed and planned a weekend getaway to a spa. Troy finally convinced Gabriella that it was best for everyone and that when she got back, he would make sure they even had a little alone time to make up for how much he had been away lately.

The three girls left Friday morning after dropping Annabelle and Caleb off at her mom's for the weekend. She and Troy had decided that they both needed a weekend where there were no kids around. The girls headed out of town to a relaxing spa where Gabriella didn't have to worry about taking care of the kids or stress about anything going on in her life.

While the girls had their weekend getaway, Troy took the opportunity to bond more with Alex. He had grown to love the little boy very much and loved spending most of his free time with him. He just hadn't realized how much of his free time had been spent at Stacy's instead of at home, and he was beginning to bond with her, too, forming a good friendship.

On Saturday night, Troy went over to Stacy's and the three of them watched a movie. Nearly halfway through the movie, Alex fell asleep. Troy and Stacy left him where he was on the couch until the movie was over.

"I'll take him up to his bed. I'm sure he'll be much more comfortable."

Stacy nodded and watched Troy carry their son up the stairs.

When Troy came back, he sat down on the couch next to Stacy.

"You know…I can't believe how much of his life I missed. I just feel like I need to make up for lost time."

"Well you know you are always welcome here."

"Thanks, I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to get to know Alex. It means a lot to me."

Stacy smiled. "Hey, you want some wine or a beer? I think I've got some in the fridge."

"Yeah, beer sounds great." Stacy went to get them both a beer and came back to sit on the couch where she was.

Over the next couple of hours, Stacy and Troy both drank a couple more beers each, all the while reminiscing over their college years, remembering the fun times they had together.

Troy laughed remembering another funny memory. "Hey, remember the time we replaced Chad's mousse with whipped cream? That was so funny!" Stacy and Troy both started laughing, nearly rolling off the couch. When they looked back up, they looked at each other and locked eyes. Slowly they both leaned in, and before either of them knew what was going on, they were fiercely making out. After a few minutes of making out, Troy found himself carrying Stacy up to her bedroom, with her legs wrapped around his waste, still attached at the lips.

When Troy reached Stacy's bedroom, he nudged the door shut with his foot and threw Stacy on the bed, softly landing on top of her, never breaking their kiss. Clothes flew off at record speed. Troy looked down at Stacy, naked below him. "God, I've missed this. I've missed you. I just didn't realize it until now."

"I've missed you, too, Troy." Troy leaned back down and kissed Stacy again, hard. He wasn't willing to go slow with her, though. He knew what they both wanted, and they both wanted it now. Troy slammed his length into Stacy as she cried out in pleasure. Troy slammed into Stacy several times before he felt her grip him, and he released into her moments later, pumping a few more times as he released.

Troy rolled off of Stacy and lay beside her. They soon both passed out.


	23. Can't Believe It

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 23 – Can't Believe It**

When Troy woke up the next morning, he had a horrendous headache and he had a girl in his arms. But the girl was not his wife. She was a blonde…Stacy. _Oh….shit! _She was looking up at him with a smile on her face.

"It feels so good to wake up in your arms again." She leaned up and tried to kiss Troy but he shoved her off of him as he climbed out of bed and put his boxers back on.

"Stacy, what happened last night should not have happened. It was a mistake. I'm married to a wonderful woman and happier than I have ever been. This can't be mentioned to anyone."

Just then the doorbell rung and Stacy slipped out of bed and put on Troy's shirt from last night to go answer the door.

A couple minutes later, Troy went downstairs in search of some aspirin for his headache. As he was walking through the living room, he heard a familiar voice and looked over at the door where Stacy was standing and locked eyes with his wife.

Hurt and confusion filled her eyes along with unshed tears. "So this is why you sent me away for the weekend? So you could have a little rendezvous with your ex?" Tears starting streaming down Gabriella's face as she stood there, looking from Stacy in Troy's shirt to Troy in his boxers. "I thought you were better than this. I thought we were past all the struggles we were having with our exes. But I guess you had different thoughts." Gabriella turned to go. "Have a nice life, Troy."

"Brie, wait! Can't we please talk? I don't love her. I love _you!_"

"Yeah….right! The way you are both dressed says it all. And besides…even if we did talk it would probably all be lies coming out of your mouth. How long have you been lying to me, Troy? Has our whole marriage been a lie? You know…I came back early so that I could be with your for an extra night without the kids because I missed you and because I actually thought you cared about making sure our marriage was ok. But I guess it's not now."

"No…I haven't lied to you Brie. I do care. I can promise that. I know we have been having difficulties, but that is why I wanted you to have this weekend away, so you could relieve some stress. I promise that what happened last night between Stacy and I was a pure mistake. It wasn't planned. We were both drunk and it just happened. Please believe me when I say that if I had been sober, I would have been at home last night wishing you were next to me."

"Bullshit! Stop lying to me Troy! I'm tired of all the lies. Just take your whore and go! It's over!"

Gabriella ran down the driveway, not looking back When she left Stacy's house, she immediately went to the only person who she knew could help her…David.

David opened his door to find Gabriella in tears. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her, letting her cry as he led her to the couch. He sat down and pulled her down with him, still hugging her.

When her sobs had subsided, he waited for her to speak.

"Troy cheated on me."

"What?! That bastard! I'll kill him!"

"No! You won't. I left him. I told him it was over."

"But what happened? I thought you were going to be gone this weekend."

"I was gone. I wasn't supposed to get back until this evening, but I decided that I wanted to come back early and surprise Troy because I felt like we needed some extra time to patch things up between us. But apparently he had other plans of patching things up between him and Stacy."

"Stacy? His ex?"

"Yeah. I went home last night to an empty house. Troy was no where to be found. When I tried calling his cell, it just kept going straight to voicemail and he never called me back. So when he never came home last night, I started to get worried and went to the only place I knew of that he had plans to go this weekend…Stacy's. She answered the door in only Troy's shirt. I started to ask her if she knew where I could find Troy but as soon as I saw his shirt, I knew. Then a couple minutes later he walked through in just his boxers."

David hugged Gabriella tighter as her crying increased again. He began rubbing her back, trying to comfort her.

"Thanks, David, for being here. I hate it that I keep coming to your door crying, but you're the only one who knows me well enough to always make me feel better."

"Well, you know I'm always here for you."


	24. Separation

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 24 – Separation**

As the weeks went on, Gabriella avoided Troy, also keeping the kids away from the house when she knew he was going to be there, and only coming to the house when she absolutely had to. She had packed up most of her stuff and moved in temporarily with her mom. It was hard on the kids because they didn't know what was going on to make mommy dislike daddy so much. They also didn't understand why she wouldn't let them see him anymore.

It was also hard on her as she was now nearly five months pregnant with her and Troy's third baby. This fact also made it harder for her when she went to see a lawyer about filing for divorce. Her lawyer was able to make the process quick and painless. There were some problems at first with Troy refusing to sign the papers, wanting to sit down and talk to Gabriella first before they made any permanent decisions. Troy was heartbroken. He still loved Gabriella so much and couldn't imagine how life would be without her by his side.

Gabriella had also went back to teaching, but had found a teaching job at West High so she could avoid see Troy at work also. She and David had become closer through the whole process and were beginning to date again. David had promised to support Gabriella and the kids if she didn't want to go back to work, but Gabriella had told David that it would be best for everyone if she went back to work because she would have a better case to present when they went before the judge to determine custody of the kids.

When they went to court for the custody hearing, Troy became even more devastated. Gabriella had presented her side of the case very well, convincing the judge that Troy wanted nothing to do with Annabelle or Caleb anymore. She explained to the judge that when Troy found out he had another son, he had all but completely abandoned her and the kids in order to spend enough time with Alex to get to know him and make up for lost time. By the end of the hearing, the judge and decided that it was in the best interest of the kids that they stay together with Gabriella, at least temporarily, while Troy got his life straightened out.

Troy let Gabriella have the house so the kids would have a familiar place to go to. He moved into a small apartment by himself. Every night, he lay in bed and cried himself to sleep, mourning over the loss of everything that was good in his life.

He still spent time with Alex, just not as much. Stacy was there for him however, after the divorce. She had apologized for what had happened, sorry that it had cost him his marriage. Her and Troy were still good friends.

David and Gabriella's relationship had begun to become stronger. David treated both kids like they were his own and made sure he was there for Gabriella every step of the way through her pregnancy. He made sure he was there for every doctor's appointment and treated Gabriella through her pregnancy like she was carrying his child.

Eight-months-pregnant Gabriella sat on David's couch while the kids were spending the day with their Grandma, the two just spending time with each other.

"How has this become my life, David?"

"What, Gabi?"

"This…divorce…raising two, almost three kids alone…wondering why we ever broke up in the first place…"

"Well the divorce happened because you had a bastard for a husband. And you aren't raising these almost three kids by yourself. I'm here for you. I told you that. I don't want you to feel alone anymore. I want to be here for you and the kids. You have done an amazing job raising these two kids. I couldn't ask for better kids to have in my life. And I want to be involved in raising this child that is growing inside of you. And maybe one day I'll be able to support you as a little David grows inside of you. I love you so much. I never stopped. And if I could go back to when we broke up, there are so many things that I would do differently about that whole situation. We would be married right now. Did you know that I was going to propose to you? But you broke up with me too soon. But I was being a jerk and I didn't feel that I deserved you. I was putting you through so much heartache that I couldn't even live with myself."

"You were going to propose?"

"Yeah, but I guess it wasn't meant to be….that is until now…hopefully."

Gabriella looked up at David with confusion in her eyes.

"I love you Gabriella, so much. And I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you, if you'll have me. Will you be my wife?"

Gabriella began to cry. "Oh David, I would love to. But I need to talk to the kids first. They are still touchy about the divorce and I don't want to upset them anymore."

"Don't worry. I already did. Caleb actually picked out the ring." David pulled a red velvet box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a large princess cut diamond surrounded by several smaller diamonds embedded in a while gold band.

"It's beautiful, David." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Yes, David, I will marry you!"

David slipped the ring on Gabriella's finger and kissed her passionately. When David pulled back, he just stared at Gabriella with all the love in his eyes as he watched her inspect her ring. She looked up at him again and smiled, leaning back in for another kiss.


	25. Birth of Another Bolton

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 25 – Birth of Another Bolton**

Two weeks after David proposed to Gabriella, they were sitting at David's house watching 3-year old Caleb and 5-year-old Annabelle play in the floor. Gabriella was writing in a notebook some new plans she had for her and David's wedding when she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She quickly grabbed her stomach and inhaled sharply as the pain took her breath away. David noticed this and was alarmed by Gabriella's actions.

"Babe, you ok?"

"Yeah…I think so. Just a sharp pain. I'll be fine." She looked up at David and tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he didn't believe her. As the kids continued to play, David kept a close watch over Gabriella. A few minutes later, Gabriella stood up to go get a glass of water when she felt liquid start trickling down her legs.

She looked at David and locked eyes with him, silently communicating what needed to be done.

"Call your mom; I'll load the kids in the car."

Gabriella nodded and dialed her mom's number.

"Of course I'll take care of the kids. I'll be waiting for you to drop them off on your way to the hospital. Do you want me to call Troy and let him know what is going on?"

"No…I don't want him there…at least not yet."

"Ok. But you do need to let him know at some point. It is his child after all."

By the time Gabriella got in the car, David had already buckled the kids in and loaded her bag. He quickly drove to her mom's and gave her the kids, then drove even faster to the hospital.

When it came time for Gabriella to deliver the baby, she asked David to wait in the waiting room. He was confused, as he had assumed he would be coaching her through the whole birthing process. But when she quickly explained that it would be awkward for her, he felt a little hurt that she didn't want him by her side.

Two hours after Gabriella was taken into the delivery room, the doctor came out to get David and informed him that Gabriella and the baby were doing just fine. David felt relieved and followed the doctor as the he led David into Gabriella's room.

David stopped just inside the door and stared at Gabriella as she held her new baby girl. Gabriella looked up from the baby and smiled at David. David walked over to the side of the bed and looked at the baby.

"She's beautiful."

"David, meet my daughter, Abigail Hope."

"She has your eyes."

"She's absolutely perfect."

"Can I hold her?"

"Of course." Gabriella handed Abigail to David. She watched David interact with Abigail as David talked to her.

"David, I'm sorry if I hurt you earlier when I was going into the delivery room. I just thought that it would be awkward for both of us considering we have never done anything to even come close to putting me in this situation. But I'm really glad that you are here for me and have been every step of the way. You know I love you right?"

"It's fine…really. And I love you too. So much. I was just afraid of you being alone in that delivery room. I didn't care how awkward it was, I just wanted to be there to make sure you were ok."

"And I was. I am. But thank you for caring."

"I care about you so much it hurts sometimes."

David sat down in a chair beside Gabriella's bed and held her hand as they talked for the next couple of hours. Gabriella had called her mom to let her know about Abigail and that they were both ok. Mrs. Montez had told Gabriella that she would bring the kids by in the morning to meet their newest sibling.

Around 9:30 that night, David was still sitting next to Gabriella's bed. Gabriella watched him as his eyes began to get heavy.

"David, you're tired. We've both had a long day. Why don't you go home and get some rest and come back tomorrow."

"No, that's alright. I'm ok right here. I don't want to leave you."

"David, I'm fine. Abigail is fine. And if we need something there are nurses all around here who can help us. And in the case that something should go wrong, the doctor has your number. You'll be the first to be notified. I promise."

"Ok. But I'll be back first thing in the morning."

"Ok." David leaned down and kissed Gabriella then turned to leave, whispering 'I love you' on his way out the door.

Gabriella waited about 10 minutes after David had left before she picked up the phone and dialed a number she used to dial regularly.

"Hello?"

"Troy, its Gabriella."

"Brie? Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything is great actually. Sorry I'm calling so late."

"It's ok. What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know that you have another daughter."

"You had the baby?"

"Yeah. She's beautiful, Troy."

"I'm sure she is. Can I come see her?"

"Yeah. You could stop by sometime tomorrow and see her if you'd like."

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks for letting me know."

"Yeah…goodnight."

Gabriella hung up and turned over in bed, trying to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

The next morning, Gabriella awoke to hushed whispers. She opened her eyes and saw Troy standing there holding their daughter.

"Oh, look. Mommy's awake," Troy said to his daughter, as he looked over at Gabriella.

"I see you've already met your daughter."

"Yes…she really is beautiful, Brie, just like you said. Have you already given her a name?"

"Abigail Hope Bolton."

"That's beautiful."

Troy sat down and talked with Gabriella about him getting to see Abigail. They decided that it would be best to wait a while before Abigail was allowed to go stay with Troy on the weekends he had the kids so that she wasn't getting exposed outside too much. However, Gabriella decided that it was only right that Troy was still allowed to see her, so she offered to let him come by and see her from time to time at her house.

Before Troy had a chance to leave, David came walking in with a bouquet of roses for Gabriella. Gabriella smiled at David, but David looked extremely uncomfortable seeing Troy sitting in there. Troy got up to excuse himself to go but David cut him off telling him to stay, and that he really should be going also because he had a lot that he needed to do. Gabriella was confused by this because he had seemed so eager the previous night to stay with her. David left, leaving the roses, and Troy left not longer after. Gabriella waited a couple of hours before trying to call David. However, when she did call him, it went straight to voicemail.

David never came back to see Gabriella that day and she was beginning to get worried because he hadn't returned any of her phone calls either. The next day, Gabriella and Abigail were released. When Gabriella arrived at home, Troy was there to greet her.

"Hey. I talked to your mom to see when you were coming home and she mentioned that it was today so I decided to come and wait for you. I thought that maybe you might need some time to recuperate so I'd like to offer to take the kids for at least a few days while you get back to yourself and readjust to having a baby around again, if that's alright with you."

"Troy, I'm surprised, but very thankful for that offer. That would be great. I love Caleb and Annabelle to death but as you know they are a handful and I don't know if I could handle them and a newborn by myself. Thank you so much."

"No problem." Troy helped Gabriella open the door and get inside, and then went to pack some of the things that the kids would need for a few days with him.

Later that evening while Abigail was sleeping and Gabriella was resting on the couch, there was a knock at the door. Slowly, Gabriella made her way to the door and looked out the peephole. It was David.

Gabriella opened the door and smiled brightly at him. "Where have you been? I've tried calling but you never answer."

"I…uh…I had some thinking to do."

"Oh…does this have something to do with Troy being at the hospital yesterday?"

"Uh…yeah…partly. I just didn't think you would call him that soon, so I was extremely surprised to walk into your room and see him sitting there."

"David, I love _you_ and no one else. But you have to understand that even though what Troy did to me was wrong, I can't take the kids away from him. He deserves to be a part of their lives, and they deserve to have him in theirs, even Abigail. I want to her grow up knowing her dad because I didn't."

David sighed heavily. "I love you, too…so much. And I'm sorry. I guess I was just really jealous that he was getting to be involved in another part of your life when all I really want to do is forget about him and how much he has hurt you. And I want to take you and your kids and move somewhere far away where none of us can ever be hurt again and we can all live happily ever after."

Gabriella laughed at this. "Oh David…if only that was possible."

David pulled Gabriella into a hug. "But I have done some thinking and I really need to talk to you."

Gabriella leaned back and saw the seriousness on David's face. "Ok…" she said, unsure of what David was about to tell her. She led him over to the couch and they both sat down.

"Gabi, I want to start up my music career again."


	26. Moving On

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 26 – Moving On**

"_Gabi, I want to start up my music career again."_

"You what?"

"I want to start up my music career again. Gabi, I miss it so much. I miss singing all the time and making records and writing my own songs. My old record company called me a couple of days ago and offered me a new record deal. They miss my music."

"David, that's great. But can't you still do that kind of stuff here?"

"Yeah, I can, but not without the big name hassle that comes with it. Gabi, everyone knows who I am and it's been hard trying to find a job where someone doesn't like me for who I was in the past. But to be completely honest with you, I want to be that person again. I miss that life."

Tears began to form in Gabriella's eyes. "You miss what broke us up the first time?"

"Yes…no…no I don't miss what broke us up, but I miss the music."

Gabriella looked down at the ring sitting on her finger. David had made a promise to her…several actually. She still loved him but she didn't think she could survive their relationship with three kids and him being away all the time. She slid the ring from her finger and tried to hand it to him.

"What are you doing, Gabi?"

"David, I don't want to hold you back from pursuing your dreams. But I can't be with you if that is the life you want to live. I love you, please know that, but I don't think I can handle you being away so much again, especially when I have three kids to think about also."

David pushed Gabriella's hand back towards her that still held the ring. "Gabi, that's why I want you to come with me this time, no more being apart. I can't stand to be away from you any longer. I want to marry you and be with you and share my passions with you and help you raise this family. And maybe even help you make the family grow."

Gabriella let the tears flow down her face finally. She shoved her hand back towards David. "David, please take this. I can't go with you, but you can't stay here. You have to go for your dreams. Please don't make this any harder than it already is."

"Why can't you go with me?"

"David, I have three kids to worry about. I can't just uproot their lives like that. Plus, I can't take them away from their father. The kids as well as Troy would be devastated. I'm sorry…but I can't do this." Gabriella opened David's hand and placed the ring in it before closing it into a fist. She got up from the couch and walked to Abigail's room to check on her. Soon, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and kisses being placed on her neck.

"I can't walk away from you, Gabi. I love you too much to do that a second time."

"David, please don't do this. Please, just go. I want you to go. I don't want you to regret this in a couple of years when the opportunity has passed. I don't want you to look at me in a couple of years and think 'She held me back from everything I ever wanted and could have had.' I don't want to do that to you, David."

David grabbed her shoulders and turned her around to face him, putting his arms back around her waist. "But don't you see, you wouldn't be holding me back. I just have two dreams, and I guess I can't have them both. I just need to figure out which one I want the most. But standing here looking at you and holding you in my arms has helped me decide what, or rather who I want in my life. I want you, Gabi. I want you and everything that comes with it."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to regret it."

"I'm positive." David slid the ring back on Gabriella's finger once again and kissed her. He pulled her to him and hugged her.

Gabriella rested in David's embrace, still unsure about David's decision. "David, what if we tried it again?"

"Tried what?"

"Your music career. You go pursue your music career, just promise to call and come home as much as possible."

"No, like I said I don't want to give you up."

"But maybe you can have both. We can try it for a while and see how it goes. Maybe it could be that you wouldn't have to be gone for long periods of time. Maybe you could work it out to where you would only be gone for four or five days, but come home and stay for a couple of weeks at a time or something. I think I could handle that."

"Really? You're really willing to try it?"

"Yeah, I want to see you happy, David. And I don't want you to give up any dreams for me, even if it means making some sacrifices."

David smiled brightly then kissed Gabriella with all the passion in the world. He loved her so much, they just both hoped this wouldn't be a decision they both regretted later.

Meanwhile, Troy had decided that it was time to move on with his life. He still loved Gabriella, but the day he had went to see Abigail when she was born he had noticed the ring on Gabriella's finger. She had moved on and he needed to face the fact that she was no longer his and never again would be.

Troy and Stacy had grown much closer during the time that he was spending with Alex. They had now been dating for about two months. Troy had seen a lot of change in Stacy since he had dated her the first time and was starting to realize that he was falling in love with her.

A couple months later, when Troy and Stacy were going out for the evening to celebrate their four month anniversary, Troy had a surprise for Stacy – he was going to propose to her. He took her to a romantic Italian restaurant and had a table reserved for the two of them in the back where it was more private. Halfway through dinner, he looked up from his plate into Stacy's eyes.

"What? You're staring at me, Troy. Do I have something in my teeth?"

"No. Sorry, you're just so beautiful. I don't know how we ever got away from each other back in college." Stacy blushed at Troy's comment. "You know…I have to be honest. When you first walked back into my life and told me about Alex, I actually regretted ever being in our relationship because of what that little fact did to my marriage at the time. But I guess fate has a hand in working things out to the way they are supposed to be. I'm sorry that I ever regretted being with you. But sitting here right now, I wouldn't change a thing that has happened in my life. I love you, Stacy Richardson. I love our son, too. And I want us to be an actual family. Will you be my wife?"

Stacy began to cry. "Yes, Troy. I would be honored to become your wife." They both leaned across the table and kissed before Troy pulled the ring from his pocket and slipped it on Stacy's finger.


	27. Broken and Bruised

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 27 – Broken and Bruised**

As the months passed, Gabriella and David continued to talk regularly via phone and he made regular trips back to see her and the kids. He had told her this was the way he wanted it, except he wished that she was closer and he could see her every day. But they decided that it was best for his music career and for the kids if things stayed the way they were.

However, as the weeks and months kept passing, David's calls became fewer and farther between, as did his visits home. Finally, when a month had passed since Gabriella had last spoken to David and he wasn't answering phone calls, she wrote him a letter and sent it to him, along with the engagement ring he had given her.

Gabriella cried herself to sleep for days, thinking only of her kids during the day and trying to make it through each day with as much strength as she could. Finally after a few weeks, each day seemed to get easier, but she couldn't help but think that each man she had ever had in her life always walked out on her. _What is wrong with me? Why do I cause the men that I love most to leave?_

Troy and Stacy were planning their wedding still. They had decided on a long engagement because Stacy wanted plenty of time to plan the kind of wedding she had always dreamed of. The wedding was still two months away.

It was Thursday afternoon. Troy and Stacy had both taken off of work early so they could meet at a local bakery to decide on what they wanted for their wedding cake. Troy had just arrived and was waiting on Stacy to get there. Troy waited for 20 minutes and Stacy still hadn't showed up. She was 15 minutes late from the time they had said they were going to meet. _Maybe she got tied up at work and couldn't get away that fast. Surely she would have called me, though._

Troy pulled out his phone to call her. Her phone rang three times before it went to voicemail. "_Hey, you've reached Stacy. Leave me a message._" (_beep)_ "Hey Stace, its Troy. I was just wondering where you are at. We said we would meet at the bakery at 2:00 and it's now 2:20. It's not like you to be late without calling to let me know. Call me back when you get this."

Troy waited for 10 more minutes, but Stacy didn't show up. She didn't call either. Troy talked to the baker and rescheduled their appointment, apologizing for any inconveniences. As Troy was walking out the door of the bakery, his phone rang.

"Stacy?"

"Uh…is this Troy Bolton?"

"Yes."

"Hello. My name is Dr. Norton. I'm calling from Albuquerque General Hospital. Stacy Richardson has been admitted to the hospital. She has been in a serious car accident."

"Oh my god! Is she ok?"

"I'm afraid she isn't. But I can't give you any details over the phone. Could you come down to the hospital?"

"Of course. I'm on my way."

Troy hopped in his car and sped all the way to the hospital. When he got there, he asked where he could find Dr. Norton. He was directed to the correct floor and Dr. Norton led him to a private room where they could talk.

"Mr. Bolton, I'm sorry to tell you that Ms. Richardson is in critical condition. She had serious head trauma in the accident which has caused her brain to swell. We are going to have to do surgery, but we're not sure if she will make it through the surgery. I'm very sorry."

Troy began to cry. This couldn't be happening. They were so happy right now and everything was coming together for the wedding nicely. They were supposed to be getting married in two months.

"When does she go into surgery?"

"We are prepping her right now. You can go see her before she goes in if you would like. I will warn you, though. Be prepared. She is not in very good condition and she is unconscious still, so I'm afraid she won't respond."

Troy could only nod. He was at a loss for words right now. As soon as Troy walked into Stacy's room, he gasped at how bad she looked. She had cuts and bruises all over her body, mainly on her face. There was dried blood everywhere. This didn't even look like Stacy.

"Stace, sweetie, it's me…Troy. Sweetie you have to pull out of this. You can do it. I know you can. You're a fighter. Just go in that operating room and let them do their thing and everything will be ok. You will get through this…you have to. We have to finish planning our wedding and we have a son who needs you very much. I need you, too. I love you so much." _This is just like when Brie had Caleb. Wait a minute…why am I thinking of Brie right now?_

The doctors walked in ready to take her into surgery. They told Troy that he could wait in the waiting room while she was in surgery and that the surgery would take about four hours.

Troy waited impatiently while Stacy was in surgery. Four hours came and went and Troy began to get really nervous. Finally, after five and a half hours, Dr. Norton came out to get Troy with a solemn look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Troy. We did all that we could. Her body was just too weak to survive the surgery. She's gone."

"No!" Troy broke down in sobs on the waiting room floor. Dr. Norton looked at Troy sadly before slipping quietly from the room as he let Troy mourn the loss of Stacy.

One week later, Troy and Alex sat in Troy's apartment. Alex was watching a movie and Troy just sat staring at the wall. Over the past week since the death of his fiancé, Troy had only spoken when he had to and only gone out of his apartment if necessary. The rest of the time he spent locked up in his apartment with Alex, trying to keep Alex entertained while he grieved by himself.

After a couple of weeks, Troy started to get back in the groove of things. He was beginning to get back to his old self at work again, but was struggling with the fact that he was all alone to raise Alex. He was a single parent now.

Troy sat in his apartment one evening and thought about two questions: _Why do the women I love most always leave me? How am I going to raise a child alone?_

As Troy thought about these questions, one person came to mind. He would go to her for advice.


	28. Friends Again

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 28 – Friends Again**

The next morning, Troy showed up on Gabriella's doorstep and rang the doorbell. Seconds later, the door opened.

"Troy? What are you doing here? It's not your turn with the kids." Gabriella started to shut the door in Troy's face but Troy spoke up.

"How do you do it?"

"How do I do what?" Gabriella asked, now curious as to why Troy was actually on her doorstep.

"How do you raise three kids by yourself? I mean…I guess you have David's help occasionally but you basically raise them by yourself. How do you do it?"

"Well not that it's any of your business, but David hasn't been a part of my life for quite a while now, so actually he doesn't help out at all." Gabriella began to get impatient with Troy. "Where is this coming from Troy? Why do you want to know suddenly? You've never seemed to care before."

"Can I come in so we can talk?"

Gabriella hesitated. "Yeah, I guess so." She opened the door up wider so he could enter and he went straight to the couch. "Troy, what's going on?"

Troy put his head in his hands and sighed heavily. "Stacy was killed in a car accident a few weeks ago."

"Oh my god. Troy, I'm so sorry." Troy looked up and saw the sincerity in her eyes.

"The reason I ask about how you raise three kids is because I'm struggling trying to figure out how to raise just one. You'd think I've never been a father before now, but I guess I just depended on you so much when we were together and then I depended on Stacy and now I'm just so lost as to what to do."

"It's not easy, Troy, but it does get better the longer you work at it."

Troy nodded and stood up. Gabriella got up also and walked him to the door. Troy opened the door and was walking out when Gabriella spoke up again.

"Listen, Troy. I'm having a birthday party for Abigail's first birthday and I know it would mean the world to the kids if you were there. Why don't you come? And Alex, too. I think it's going to be fun."

"Uh…sure…yeah…that would be great. When is it?"

"Two weeks on Saturday at 1:00. The day after her birthday. Its going to be here."

"Ok...I'll be here. And Alex will too."

Troy left, feeling a little better about the relationship he had or lack thereof with his ex-wife. Maybe things would turn out alright.

Two weeks later, Troy and Alex showed up at Gabriella's doorstep for his daughter's birthday party. Gabriella opened the door and let them in, leading them to the backyard where the rest of the family and friends were. Alex ran off to play with all the kids while Troy stood around feeling awkward at being in his old house again for reasons other than to pick up his kids. He looked around and found that he didn't know many people. _These must be people that Brie works with._ After a while, Troy finally spotted Gabriella in the large crowd of people. He smiled and waved and she waved back, but they didn't speak to each other.

Finally, when the cake and ice cream had been eaten and the presents had been opened, the crowd began to thin out. Troy was looking for Alex so they could leave when Gabriella came out the back door of the house after having put Abigail down for a nap.

"Troy, Alex is upstairs in Caleb's room asleep in case you were wondering. Looks like he just passed out along with Caleb. Those kids played hard today."

"Oh, thanks. Yeah I was just looking for him actually so we could go. I'm sure you're probably tired of everyone being here and just want some peace and quiet."

"No actually I like it when there are people here. It gets kind of old talking to kids all the time. Sometimes all I need is a little adult interaction."

Troy laughed at this. "Well I guess I'm going to go get Alex and get out of here."

"Why don't you wait until he wakes up? It's really no problem. You're welcome to stay here for a while longer."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course." Gabriella smiled the first true smile he had seen directed toward him in a long time.

"Ok, well then let me help you with the clean up."

"It's a deal."

Troy and Gabriella cleaned up the backyard and put away all the snacks that were left over from the party. When they were finished they both crashed on the couch.

"Who knew a one-year-old's party could cause such a mess?"

"Oh…I know. That was ridiculous. But thanks for helping me. I really appreciate it."

"No problem."

Troy and Gabriella sat for a few minutes in comfortable silence.

"Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"I forgive you."

"Huh?"

"I forgive you. You know…for everything that ever happened between us. I'm sorry that it has taken me this long, but I realize that you have been through as many struggles as I have and its not fair that I have been treating you the way I have. I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I don't deserve your forgiveness honestly. I was a jerk. I know that what I did was a mistake but it was stupid and it doesn't deserve to be forgiven."

"Friends?"

"Friends." Troy smiled at Gabriella. "So now that we are friends again, can I ask what happened to David?"

"He started up his music career again."

"Oh. I thought he was done with that."

"I thought so, too. But the day that I got home from the hospital with Abigail he broke the news to me. He got a new record deal. But I pushed him into it. I told him that I didn't want to hold him back. I wanted him to pursue his dreams. But he wanted to stay with me. So I risked what we had. I told him that we could try both for a while. We could date while he was doing the music thing. It worked for a while but then visits and phone calls became fewer and farther between. And finally they just stopped. I tried calling him but I always got his voicemail. So I wrote him a letter and enclosed my engagement ring and told him it was over. There was no going back this time. I haven't heard from him since."

"Wow…just like last time."

"Just like last time."

Just then Alex walked in.

"Dad, I want to go home."

"Ok, buddy, let's go. Bye, Brie. Thanks again…for everything."

Gabriella smiled at Troy and let him out the door. Things were finally looking up for both of them. Hopefully now they could manage to keep their family happy.

A few days later, Troy and Alex showed up at Gabriella's again.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

"Are you and the kids doing anything? I thought that maybe we could all go to the park."

"No, we're just sitting around here. I'm sure the kids would love that."

Gabriella got the kids ready and she and Troy took them to the park. Gabriella and Troy took turns taking Abigail on the slides and swings. Then finally after she started to get tired, both Troy and Gabriella sat down on a bench together while Alex, Annabelle, and Caleb all played together.

"I'm really glad we did this. I like seeing our kids play together."

"Me too. We should do this more often."

And they did. At least once a week all six of them got together and hung out. They watched movies and went to the park. Or sometimes they just got together at Gabriella's and let the kids play while Troy and Gabriella sat and talked.

About three months later, Troy stopped by to see Gabriella and the kids. Troy's parents had asked to take Alex for the day and Troy found he didn't want to sit at home by himself, so he headed over to Gabriella's.

"Troy? Hey I didn't know you were coming over today. Where's Alex?"

"He's with my parents for the day. They decided they didn't spend enough time with him so they asked to hang out with him. I didn't want to sit at home by myself the whole day so I thought I would come see you and the kids."

"Well actually I guess my mom had the same idea. She actually has the kids for the day."

"Oh…ok." Troy began to feel awkward. He knew that he and Gabriella were friends now but they hadn't been together without the kids around since they split up. "Well I…uh…I guess I will go then."

"Troy, you're welcome to come in and hang out. I could use some company. I was just planning on baking some cookies before the kids got back tonight."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to be in the way."

"I'm positive."

Gabriella let Troy in and they headed to the kitchen where they got out the ingredients to make cookies. While they mixed up the ingredients they talked and laughed, sharing stories about things that happened at work or with the kids or funny memories that they remembered that they shared.

Troy was measuring the flour when he got an idea.

"Hey Brie."

"Hmm?" Gabriella turned around, only to have a handful of flour thrown at her. "Oh its on now!"

Gabriella dug her hand into the canister of flour and threw some back at Troy. Before they knew it, the canister was empty and the kitchen was completely white with flour. Troy was looking for something else to throw when Gabriella called a time out.

"Something wrong, Brie?"

"Yeah, I think I got some flour in my eye."

Troy went to get a washcloth and brought it back, wet with warm water. He reached over and began to wash her eye.

"Better?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Troy started to wash Gabriella's whole face off with the cloth. When Troy was finished, Gabriella opened her eyes and locked eyes with Troy. Until then, they hadn't noticed how close they were to each other physically. Troy kept his eyes locked with Gabriella's then slowly closed the distance between them, brushing his lips against hers. Gabriella responded by putting her arms around his neck and pulling him back against her, deepening the kiss.

When they pulled apart, Troy laid his forehead against Gabriella's and stared into her eyes.

"I've missed you, Troy."

"I've missed you too, Brie." Troy leaned in for another kiss, putting all the passion he had held inside for her into the kiss. Troy picked Gabriella up and she put her legs around his waist. He carried her to the couch and laid her down then climbed on top of her where they continued to kiss for several minutes until Gabriella finally pulled back and looked at Troy.

"Troy, what does this mean for us?"

"I don't know. What do you want it to mean? I'll be completely honest, Brie. I've missed you so much. Even when I was getting ready to marry Stacy, I was wishing it was you. That day in the hospital when I came to see you and Abigail, I saw the ring that David gave you. I was heartbroken. I couldn't believe that you had moved on so quickly after we split up."

"Troy, I really hadn't moved on completely. I was still in love with you and I don't ever think I can completely get over that. You've held my heart since high school and I don't think any other man will ever truly hold it as long as I live. But I accepted David's proposal because with everything that had went on between us, David had been there. He saw what I was going through and he was there for me. I did love him, but not the way that I loved you. But I just wanted someone who would stick by me."

"Brie, I want to be the one to stick by you. I want to be the one that holds your hand when you're upset, even if I'm the one that upset you. And I don't want any more communication problems. I want us to be able to talk about everything. I love you so much and I don't think I can go another day without you in my life. Can we try us again?"

"I love you too, Troy." Gabriella leaned in to kiss Troy again. "Does that answer your question?"

"It sure does." Troy smiled and leaned back down to kiss Gabriella, both happy to be in one another's arms again.


	29. Will You?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 29 – Will You?**

Troy and Gabriella's family spent as much time together as possible. The kids not only enjoyed getting to spend lots of time together, but they also liked the fact that their parents were getting along so well and loved each other again.

In two days, Troy and Gabriella would be celebrating their two month anniversary and Troy had a surprise for Gabriella. He was fixing dinner for their whole family. Only he had a few plans for the dinner that he had to get in order before it could happen. First, he asked Sharpay to take Gabriella shopping for the day so he could cook without her being around. Sharpay had agreed and Troy told her he would let her know when it was safe to let Gabriella come home. Next, he needed to talk to Alex. Alex had been doing surprisingly well with all the situations going on around him. He liked Gabriella very much and loved being able to play with his brother and sisters as much as he did.

Troy took eight-year-old Alex aside and sat down with him.

"Alex, I want to talk to you about something."

"Ok, dad. What is it?"

"Are you happy being with Gabriella and the kids all the time?"

"Yeah, dad. I love going over there. Annabelle and Caleb are so fun to play with. And Gabriella makes the best cookies."

Troy laughed at this. "What would you think about making them part of our family?"

"They are your family, dad."

"I know, but I mean Gabriella too. What would you think about her being your new mom?"

"Really? That would be so awesome! Would we get to live there all the time too?"

"Yeah, we would live there and you would get to play with Caleb and Annabelle all you wanted and eat lots of Gabriella's cookies."

"I love the idea. So are you going to marry her?"

"I hope so. She just has to agree to marry me."

"Oh…ok. I hope she does."

"Me, too. But you can't say anything about this, ok? This is our little secret."

"Ok."

Troy's plan was put into action and on Saturday morning Sharpay took Gabriella shopping while Troy came over and babysat after Gabriella had asked him to, not knowing that he was the one that came up with the idea. As soon as Gabriella left, he got to work decorating the dining room. He had bought roses for Gabriella and some new candles to put in the center of the table. He decided to cook Italian because he knew it was Gabriella's favorite.

When dinner was ready, Troy text Sharpay to let her know Gabriella could come home. A few minutes later Sharpay text him back to let him know Gabriella was on her way.

When Gabriella got home, she smelled something heavenly coming from the kitchen. When she began walking that way and walked into the dining room, she saw the four children and Troy standing next to a candlelit table, Troy holding a bouquet of red roses. Troy smiled at her and walked over to her giving her the flowers and kissing her lightly on the lips.

"What's all this for?" Gabriella asked, surprised by everything.

"Just because I love you. We all love you."

Gabriella looked around Troy at the kids who were all now sitting at the table, minus Abigail who was waiting to be put in her high chair. Troy picked her up and sat her in her high chair before pulling out a chair for Gabriella.

Dinner went very well, with light conversation about how each other's day went and what the kids did while Troy cooked dinner. As the kids talked animatedly with Gabriella, Troy couldn't help but smile. This is exactly what he wanted for the rest of his life and what he had missed for so long. Troy hadn't realized that he had zoned out for so long until he heard Gabriella trying to get his attention.

"Troy…Troy…Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh…yeah…I'm fine…Just thinking."

"Oh ok."

Troy thought for a moment. _The timing is perfect._ "Actually, I have a question for you."

"Ok…shoot."

"What would you think of having these kinds of dinners more often?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean all six of us together for dinner like this, talking about our day and just enjoying spending time with each other."

"I would love that, Troy. More than anything. I love the time we get to spend together like a family."

"Me too." Troy got up and walked around the table to where Gabriella was sitting and knelt down next to her chair. He looked up into her eyes and held her gaze for a moment before continuing. "I love you Gabriella, My Brie, more than anything in this world. I have never stopped loving you, even through all the trials this world has thrown at us to try to keep us apart. Obviously fate has a bigger hand in this because here we are, back together. And this time I'm not letting you go." Troy pulled a ring out of his pocket. "Brie, will you marry me…again?"

Gabriella had tears in her eyes as she looked from the ring to Troy. "Troy, I don't know. I mean I love you but we have had so many problems in the past. Look at where those problems have got us. I don't know if I'm willing to risk everything to be married to you again."

Troy looked at her sadly. "But you just said it. You still love me. Isn't that enough?"

"I used to think so, but not anymore." Gabriella stood up from the table and looked down at Troy who was still kneeling next to her chair. "I need to think about this."

Troy looked to the ground, heartbroken, but nodded at Gabriella who grabbed Abigail to go clean her up.

Troy cleaned up from dinner, but by the time he was finished, Gabriella still hadn't come downstairs. Troy looked sadly up the stairs, thinking about going up to talk to Gabriella before he left, but figured it would be better to give Gabriella her space. Troy and Alex left and went home.

A couple days had passed since the dinner and Troy and Gabriella hadn't talked since then. It was Monday, and Troy had just found out at work that he was being sent away for a week long conference in a town four hours away, and had to leave the next morning. He called his parents and they agreed to take care of Alex while Troy was gone. Troy hated leaving Alex for that long, but knew that he didn't have a choice. Alex enjoyed spending time with his grandparents, though, and was looking forward to the week ahead. Troy promised to call every day and check in to make sure they were all doing ok.

On Wednesday evening, after Gabriella had gotten home from work, she decided to call Troy. She hated not talking to him, and the truth was she still loved him with all of her heart and couldn't imagine him not being in her life. She wanted to marry him and it hadn't taken her long to push away any doubts about them being together for the rest of their lives. Gabriella picked up her phone and dialed Troy's number.

It went straight to voicemail, meaning he had his phone shut off. She decided to leave him a message.

"Hey Troy. Um…It's Gabriella. I just…um…I just wanted to talk to you. I haven't heard from you for a few days. Please call me back. I still love you." She hung up the phone.

Gabriella waited near her phone for the rest of the evening but Troy never returned her call. By Friday, Gabriella was beginning to get worried that Troy wasn't ever going to call her back. _How could I be so stupid? Why is it that every time he lays his heart out on the line I push him away? What if I have just lost the only man that I have ever truly loved?_

Gabriella decided that instead of waiting for Troy to call her, she would go see him instead. She loaded up the kids and drove to Troy's apartment. When she knocked on the door, however, there was no answer and she hadn't seen his car in the parking lot either. She tried his cell phone again, but just like Wednesday it went straight to voicemail. She decided that she would go to Troy's parents and ask if they had seen or talked to him.

Gabriella drove over to Troy's parents' and rang the doorbell after getting the kids out of the car. Troy's dad answered the door.

"Hey Jack."

"Hey, Gabi. Hey, kids! Come on in."

"Actually, we can't stay. I just needed to ask you a question."

"Ok. Shoot." Just then, Alex stuck his head out the door and waved at the four of them standing there.

"Oh, hey, Alex. I didn't realize you were here." Gabriella looked up at Jack. "Is Troy here?"

"No, he's at a conference this week. He won't be back until Sunday. We've been taking care of Alex while he has been away. I thought he would have told you that."

"No, actually that's why I stopped by. I was trying to find out where he was. We haven't talked since Saturday and he's not answering or returning my calls. I went by his apartment but obviously he wasn't there, so I thought I would try here."

"I'm sorry, Gabi. I wish there was something that I could do. Just give him time. I'm sure that whatever happened between you two will be resolved. We're expecting to hear from him sometime tonight so when I talk to him, I'll let him know that you stopped by looking for him."

"Thanks, Jack."

Jack smiled and leaned over to give Gabriella a hug. "Whatever happens, you know you will always be my family."

Gabriella smiled sadly and nodded, tears forming in her eyes. She turned around and walked back to her car, helping the kids get buckled back into their seats.

By Sunday, Gabriella was feeling like fate was no longer on her side. She still hadn't heard from Troy. Jack had promised he would talk to Troy for her but maybe Troy hadn't listened. _Maybe Troy and I aren't meant to be. Maybe this was just a way to get my hopes up only to have them crushed._

Gabriella fixed the kids lunch, and then during the afternoon, took them to the park. The kids had been playing for about half an hour when she felt her phone vibrate. She pulled her phone from her purse and saw that she had a new text from Troy. She got really excited, glad that she was finally hearing from him, only when she read the text, she wasn't so sure it was a good thing. _Where are you? We need to talk._

She texted him back. _I'm at the park with the kids. Come by my house in an hour._

An hour later, Gabriella waited for Troy to arrive. When she had gotten home, she had put Abigail down for a nap and was now watching Caleb and Annabelle play in the back yard. She heard the doorbell ring and suddenly got nervous. _What if he has changed his mind? What if he has decided he doesn't want to be with me anymore? _

Gabriella opened the door to find a nervous looking Troy holding a grinning Alex's hand. Troy looked down at Alex and released his hand. "Buddy, why don't you go play with Caleb and Annabelle for a while so Gabriella and I can talk?"

Alex nodded. "They're in the backyard playing," Gabriella said as Alex went running through the house to the back door. Gabriella looked back to Troy and saw that he still looked nervous and maybe even a little uncomfortable. Gabriella tried to grab his hand to pull him inside, but Troy jerked his hand back before Gabriella could reach it.

Troy saw the look of confusion and hurt and immediately regretted his action. All he wanted was to be close to her and hold her in his arms. But the past week had showed him that he couldn't do that any longer. Troy walked inside and went to sit on the couch. Gabriella joined him moments later.

Gabriella sat quietly and waited for Troy to speak. Troy continued to stare at the same spot on the carpet that he had been since he sat down.

"Gabriella…" Troy paused, unable to finish the thought as it was so heartbreaking for him.

"Troy, you never call me Gabriella. What is going on?"

"I can't do this anymore."


	30. Where I Want to Be

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything._

**Chapter 30 – Where I Want to Be**

_(Previously): "I can't do this anymore."_

"Can't do what, Troy?"

"Us. I can't do us anymore. This whole week I have had a lot of time to spend just thinking about everything that is going on in my life. And I have found that I can't be a part of this relationship anymore. It's too confusing and it seems like I'm always just getting my heart broken into even tinier pieces than the last time it was broken." Gabriella felt her heart breaking too.

"Troy…"

"No…let me finish…please. I have done a lot of thinking this week. And I have decided that it would be best for Alex and me to move. My apartment is extremely cramped and it allows no space for Alex to play, especially outside."

"Yeah, I have thought of that, too. That's why…"

"Please stop interrupting me. I just need to say this." Gabriella nodded and Troy continued. "I have found a house. It's big enough for the two of us and it has a nice sized back yard where Alex will be free to run and play as much as he wants without me having to worry about him so much."

"Is it very far from here?"

"It's in Phoenix, Arizona."

"W…w…what?!"

"I've been offered a job there. I met an administrator of a school there at the conference this week and we had a chance to sit down and talk. He said there is an opening there for a music teacher. I just have to officially accept the position and put in my resignation here. Besides my parents, you are the only person that knows. I'm just going to have to find a way to break it to the kids. And we'll have to figure out how to split up time with the kids so they can come stay with me."

"You can't leave, Troy." Gabriella's voice broke and she fought back tears.

Troy got angered by this and began to raise his voice. "Why the hell not, Gabriella? Why is it that every time you want to do something, I support you and wish you luck, but every time I decide to do something you tell me that I can't do it or you just don't want me to do it? Why is that?"

"Because I love you!" Gabriella said, raising her voice also.

"Well you may, but like you said, love just isn't enough," Troy yelled back as he stood up. He began to walk towards the back door, but a now sobbing Gabriella gently grabbed his arm as he passed her.

"Please don't leave. I need you so much. I need you in my life and by my side. I can't live without you. Not again. I can't raise these kids on my own. This past week has been horrible not knowing where you were and not being able to talk to you. It killed me when you wouldn't answer my phone calls."

"Gabriella, don't you get it? I can't handle being in this kind of relationship anymore, not knowing exactly where we stand. You say that love isn't enough. You want to stay with me, yet you don't want to marry me." Troy had tears running down his face now. He sat back down next to her and whispered to her as he began to sob. "Please, just tell me what exactly you do want." Troy lowered his head and stared at his hands in his lap, quietly sobbing as he waited for her answer.

Gabriella leaned over and put his face in her hands, pulling it upwards to make him look at her. "I want you. I want a family again. I want this relationship. I want to marry you. I don't know why I didn't just answer you when you asked the first time. I knew in my heart that my answer was yes, but then all of these doubts started going through my head. 'What if he cheats on me again?' 'What if we start fighting again and we're unable to work it out?' 'What about the kids?'"

"I'm not going to cheat on you again. That was a mistake in the first place. I was stupid and drunk that night and never want to relive that again. And as for the fighting, we just have to learn to communicate, which I must say, I think we are getting better at. And the kids…the kids are all for us getting married, especially Alex. Alex adores you and I talked to him personally before I ever asked you to marry me to make sure he was ok with it."

"You asked Alex's permission?"

"Yeah, I love him and I love you, but I have to think about the kids now too."

"And that makes me love you even more."

"So you really want to marry me?"

"Yes."

Troy smiled brightly, wiping the tears form his own eyes. He grabbed Gabriella's face and wiped her tears away with the pads of this thumbs before pulling her in for a passionate kiss. When they leaned back from the kiss, Gabriella smiled at him.

"What?" Troy asked.

"One condition."

"Aww, man! You're not going to make me make it more romantic are you?"

Gabriella laughed and shook her head. "No, I think the dinner was plenty romantic. Plus I don't know if I could wait on you again. I'm not as patient as I used to be." They both laughed, knowing how impatient Gabriella had actually been in that situation.

"What is it then?"

"I want you to move back in here. Don't move to Phoenix. Don't accept the job and don't resign from your job here. You and Alex can move in here. He loves playing with Caleb and Annabelle and this will give him lots of space to run and play and he'll get used to living here by the time we get married."

"I would love to move in with you. I love so much, My Brie."

"I love it when you call me that. I love you, too, Troy, my future husband."

Troy leaned in to kiss Gabriella again, finally content with his life again. _Yep, this is exactly where I want to be._

Troy and Alex moved in with Gabriella and the kids a few days after Troy and Gabriella's conversation. Troy and Gabriella were both so happy to finally be back with one another. They both were finally able to get back to sleeping peacefully all the way through the night now that they had one another to hold and feel safe with.

About two weeks after Troy and Alex had moved back in, Gabriella woke up halfway through the night. She wasn't sure what woke her up, but when she rolled over to try to go back to sleep in the comfort of Troy's arms, she realized Troy wasn't there. _Where is he? Maybe he's in the bathroom._

Gabriella waited a few minutes but Troy didn't come back. She got up and went to look in the bathroom but he wasn't there so she proceeded on to the kitchen. Troy wasn't in there either or in the living room. Gabriella started to get worried. _Where could he be? _She stopped and listened to see if she heard him, but the house was silent except for the sound of her breathing. _What if he had doubts and doesn't want to be with me anymore? What if he left again?_

Gabriella sat down on the couch and began to cry. She still had doubts every once in a while, but they were getting better. But now that she woke up to find him gone, they were back in full force. She lay down on the couch and curled up, tears slowly trailing down her face. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

A few minutes later, Gabriella was half asleep, but vaguely heard someone quickly walk into the room. Then she felt a hand on her face wiping her tears away. She opened her eyes and looked up to see those blue eyes she had been longing for. Relief flooded through her body.

Troy looked Gabriella, worry evident in his eyes. "Brie? Are you alright? Are you hurt? Are you sick?"

Gabriella looked into Troy's eyes and saw nothing but love. "No…I'm fine."

"Then why are you crying?"

"It's nothing. It was stupid." Gabriella began to get up and go back to the bedroom but Troy stopped her.

"Brie, please talk to me. I need to know why you were crying. I don't like to see you cry."

Gabriella's tears started coming faster. "I thought you were gone."

Troy frowned at her, confused. "Gone? What do you mean?"

"I woke up and you weren't there beside me. I checked the bathroom and the kitchen and in here and I couldn't find you and I didn't hear you anywhere. I thought you had left me."

Troy pulled Gabriella into him and just held her. "Why did you think I left? I'm not going to leave you. I never could." Troy pulled back so he could look her in the eyes. "I love you more than anything in this world. I'm always going to be here for you. I just got up because I heard Abigail. I went to her room to put her back to sleep. It took a little longer than I thought it would."

Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry I doubted you. It's just that I still struggle with this fear of losing you again. You're the first man who has ever stuck by me for any long period of time and so I should trust that you will always be here, but…" Gabriella trailed off and looked anywhere but at Troy.

Troy pulled her face back up to look at him. "But I ruined that trust you had in me." Troy finished her thought process. She looked up at him and nodded slightly.

"I'm sorry. I want to trust you and I'm trying but these doubts seem to be holding me back occasionally."

"Don't apologize. I am the one who needs to be apologizing. But I intend to spend the rest of my life making it up to you, proving how much I love you and that I will never let you go or hurt you intentionally again."

"Troy you don't have to apologize anymore. You've already done that and I forgave you. But I promise that I will work on trusting you more. And I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you and our children."

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella, then grabbed her hand and led her back to their bedroom.

**Please review!!!!**


	31. Epilogue: What It Takes

Warning: Mature content ahead.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

**Chapter 31 – What It Takes**

Troy and Alex had been living with Gabriella and the kids for a few months now. Annabelle, Caleb, and Abigail were glad to have their daddy and Alex was glad to be part of a family again. Gabriella finally stopped having doubts about Troy and was able to settle comfortably into his arms each night in bed without worrying about waking up in the middle of the night to find him gone.

The two had been talking about wedding plans. They decided that since this wasn't their first wedding and they just really wanted to get married, they would have a simple ceremony with only close family and friends in attendance. Gabriella bought a simple white dress and Troy dressed in a white button up shirt and black pants. The ceremony was held in their backyard, which was also simply decorated. Their parents were there along with their closest friends Sharpay, Taylor, and Chad.

Even though this was the second time around for the two, their parents felt that it was still important that they have a couple of days to spend, just the two of them for a short second honeymoon. The parents pitched in and got them a hotel room for two nights and also took the kids.

As Troy and Gabriella were on their way to their hotel, Gabriella couldn't help but think about the first wedding night that she and Troy had together. She had been so nervous, but now, she couldn't wait to be with Troy. They hadn't made love without the kids in the next room since they had been back together, and to be honest, she missed those days. She missed being able to let loose and connect with Troy on that deeper level.

When they got to the hotel, Troy went and checked them in and carried their luggage up to their room. Gabriella immediately went and got comfortable on the bed, regretting wearing the shoes she had worn during the ceremony.

Troy set the luggage down and went to join her on the bed.

"Can you believe we're doing this…again?"

"No, but I'm glad we are. I've missed this Troy. Just us together, no kids, no screaming, no one to bother us. All the time in the world to spend however we choose."

"Well I can think of a couple ways I want to spend the time we have." Troy leaned down and kissed Gabriella hard, letting her know how he was feeling.

"Oh yeah?" Gabriella asked, going along with Troy's game. "And what would that be?"

Troy moved his kisses down Gabriella's neck and replied huskily in between kisses. "Well…first…we don't…leave the room…for the next two days…and I pleasure you….here on this bed…constantly…"

"Mmm…I'm liking this plan already. What's the next part?"

Troy looked up at Gabriella and smirked. "Then we go home and rechristen our bedroom properly before our children come home."

Gabriella smiled and pulled Troy down into a passionate kiss. "I love the plan." She looked up into Troy's eyes and saw the love there that she wondered how she could have ever doubted had ever left. "Troy Alexander Bolton, make love to me."

Troy didn't have to be told twice. He dipped down and captured Gabriella's lips in a passionate but gentle kiss, all the while pulling Gabriella's dress up her body. When it reached her head, he broke their kiss long enough to pull it over her head and off her body, and then he reattached their lips and pressed their bodies together.

Troy moved his lips down Gabriella's jaw to her neck, easily finding her soft spot as she moaned his name. Gabriella reached down and began unbuttoning Troy's shirt as he continued to kiss her. When she undid all the buttons, she slid it from Troy's shoulders and threw it to the floor where her dress already was.

Next, Gabriella reached for Troy's pants and began unbuttoning them before sliding her hands into the waistband and pushing them down, taking his boxers with them. Troy kicked them off and moved his kisses slowly down her body. When he reached her panties, he put a finger in each side of her waistband and slowly pulled them down, continuing the kisses, but skipping the area she wanted contact with the most. Troy skipped down to her thigh and kissed down to her ankle then back up the other leg, stopping at her thigh. He looked up, locking eyes with her, then slowly slipped one finger into her. Gabriella moaned as Troy slowly thrust his finger in and out of her, adding another finger. Troy continued this until he had three fingers inside of her. Just when she was about to release her orgasm, he pulled out and began to kiss his way back up her body as she whimpered at the loss of contact.

Gabriella grabbed Troy by the shoulders and flipped him over so she was now on top, then slid down his body until her head was right over his length. She grabbed the base of him and slowly slid him into her mouth. She sucked him and slowly stroked his base until he finally released in her mouth. She moved back up his body until she was face to face with him. She leaned down and kissed him so he could taste himself. Troy moaned and flipped Gabriella back over onto the bed. He looked into her eyes before kissing her again with all the passion he had. He went back to kissing her neck and Gabriella held onto him as she moaned.

"Troy…I need you…now."

Troy leaned up and nodded, slowly guiding himself into her. It had been a little while since they had connected in this way and how he was ready for it! Troy waited for Gabriella to adjust to him. When she got comfortable she nodded at him, slowly moving her hips to let him know she was ready. He began to thrust in and out, slowly at first until the passion and pleasure built in them, both moaning each others names loudly. Troy began to move in and out faster, Gabriella meeting his thrusts with her own.

"Troy…faster baby….harder….ooohhhh."

Troy complied and his faster thrusts were met with faster ones from Gabriella. Soon, he felt her walls constricting around him and she released. His release came right after hers, with him pumping into her a few more times before pulling out of her and lying beside her. Troy wrapped his arms around her as they basked in the afterglow, both trying to catch their breaths.

"That…was amazing," Troy said, as he leaned over and kissed Gabriella on the forehead.

"So I didn't ruin your wedding night this time?"

"You didn't ruin it last time either."

"Troy…come on…you can tell me the truth. I know it ruined it last time. I mean…I locked myself in the bathroom at one point."

"Brie, if you did anything that night, you made me love you more because I saw how trusting you were of me. You trusted me to help you conquer a fear that you had. That meant more to me than anything. Honestly, I really didn't expect anything that night other than to spend the night with you in my arms, enjoying the feeling of knowing that you were my wife."

"And I still trust you. I just wish that I had realized how much I trust you when we had so many problems."

"But Brie, think of it this way…we have learned to love each other more because of all we have been through. We are getting to have a second honeymoon." Troy wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Gabriella and she laughed at him as she leaned over and kissed him again. Troy deepened the kiss and they spent the rest of their night showing each other how much they loved each other, both knowing they had finally found out what it takes to make love last.

**Well guys, that's my story. Thanks so much for those who have read and also to those who have reviewed. Please review and let me know what you thought of the story as a whole. Feedback is always welcome!**


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